Terminator Retribution
by Enigma6482
Summary: In this dark interpretation of the Terminator universe, John Connor is forced to ask the question of how far he is willing to go in order to be reunited with the one he loves.     Season 3 Fan Fiction. Events proceed on from the ending of season 2.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This is indeed a much darker more twisted interpretation of what TSCC could have turned into. If you are looking for an, "everyone rides happily off together into the sunset" fan fic, this is not the story for you. Instead I want the reader(s) to ask themselves, "How far would I be willing to go for the person I love most?"

I've put together a few trailers that better lay out where this story is headed:

Trailer 1:

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=OozSIV4PgxA

Trailer 2:

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=WsNMx8BXS5M

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Terminator

Retribution

"_Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned…"_

_-William Congreve_

Chapter 1

The concrete floor was cold and rough. The dimly lit underground room was barren. Apart from some rubble in the corner, which had undoubtedly been caused by some sort of attack or explosion, the room had little else inside of it. A dimly lit light bulb provided the only illumination. Low rumbling explosions could be felt as they reverberated throughout the area and shook the hard rock like walls. With every close detonation the light bulb flickered to different stages of dimness.

John felt a tired numbness about him as he sat on the floor leaning up against the dust covered wall. His hazel eyes twitched slightly as yet another distant explosion shook dust from the walls. He felt the vibration from the explosion travel down the wall and through his body. Another slight shiver ran up his spine as the cool air around caused goose bumps to form on his arms. The darkly colored, tattered, and torn pants and the button down long sleeve shirt that the soldiers had provided did little to insulate him from the elements.

John sighed, a long and heavy sigh as he allowed his head to drop back against the wall. The situation was not at all as he had expected. The first surprise had come when John realized that Cameron's body did not travel through time. Although Catherine Weaver's brief explanation, did make perfect sense it did not help to quell that particular disturbing realization.

The next surprise came shortly after he was discovered. While it was completely understandable that Catherine Weaver might briefly disappear due to the present circumstances it was still disturbing. Nevertheless, John had expected her to make some sort of contact with him in the time following their discovery. Yet, hours had past and she had not. No one had. John had been locked in this small room for the past several hours with absolutely no contact with anyone.

Both of these realizations paled in comparison, however, to what John considered to be one of the most heart wrenching moments of his life. It was moments after he saw her. For a brief second he had believed that everything would be alright. Cameron was there and apparently helping the resistance. She would explain everything to them. But, immediately after carefully looking at her, John realized that this was not Cameron. No, it was definitely not her. While they might look identical these were two entirely different people. John had felt the sheer horror grow as he reluctantly accepted the truth.

For an unknown reason John had still hoped that this "human" Cameron would somehow be able to help him or at least understand what he was attempting to explain. But this soon proved to be another unpleasant surprise to befallen him. This girl, this, Alison had no empathy for him. Of course he could not honestly expect her to care about him. There was really no good explanation for a random, clean, well nourished, and clean shaven, young male to be wandering around these tunnels completely naked.

Kyle and Derek obviously thought the worst as John's attempted explanations progressed. John wasn't even exactly sure what he should attempt to tell them. None of it really made sense. None of it could. And the truth itself would have sounded far more like a lie. After dragging him through the hallways at gunpoint and listening to his strained excuses the consensus of most of the group, including Derek, Kyle and Alison was that John was a Gray or something else equally unpleasant that John had never heard of before.

Hours had passed inside this room and the faint hope that Catherine Weaver would appear to provide even a small amount of information about Cameron, John Henry or the situation as a whole faded as every minute slipped by. John had begun to believe that his father and uncle might just leave him in that room to die. He knew that even in the "correct" timeline the resistance had very little material resources and John assumed they had even less now. They were unlikely to waste much on him, especially if they believed he was some sort of machine traitor. John sighed once again as he stared up at the dirty ceiling. Another low rumble caused more dust to be shaken from the walls.

Just then he heard a creak and the wooden and metal door at the front of the small room was pulled open. There was a momentary delay before both Derek and Kyle Reese emerged through the doorway, followed closely by a soldier holding a plasma rifle. It was in fact the same soldier who had located him in the hallways just hours earlier. John suspected this particular soldier still looked all too eager to use his rifle on him. After a moment of silence Derek finally spoke,

"I'm going to ask you again…Why are you here?" There was an unmistakably cold, angry tone behind Derek's voice. John frantically searched his mind still attempting to formulate some sort of reasonable explanation for the circumstances and still not being able to come up with much. Finally he spoke,

"I told you, I got lost…Some men…they cornered me and took everything I had…including my clothes." John figured that no matter what future he was in crime would be rampant, especially among "tunnel rats" so this seemed as likely an excuse as any. However, Derek shook his head.

"No, tunnel rat is as clean, or well fed as you." There was anger behind Derek's voice as he spoke.

"Did Skynet send you?" Kyle quickly retorted after Derek finished speaking.

"No…" John replied promptly, with certain earnestness in his voice, "Skynet didn't send me here."

"Then what faction are you with?" A third very familiar yet cold voice asked. John flicked his eyes to the left as Alison emerged yet again from the darkness behind Kyle. Given his initial reaction to her in the tunnel, it did not surprise John at all that they had brought her to interrogate him further. Yet it was the question that perplexed him.

"Faction?" He asked. Here was a term he had never heard before. Not from his uncle, Cameron or anyone else that he had known until now.

"I know you're not with us." Kyle stated as he stared at John, "Is the Northwest faction making a move on us again." Still extremely confused John responded,

"No, I'm not with them, I'm not with anyone."  
"You have to be with someone." Alison quickly shot back, "If you're not with the Northwest Faction, then who are you with?"

"Nobody…I swear." John replied attempting to garner some sympathy from Alison, even though he knew he would more than likely receive none. Derek sighed, and then spoke,

"This is getting old…"

"I say we kill him…" The young soldier standing next to Derek quickly stated. John felt his heart drop into his stomach as the group stared at him.

"Well…He won't tell us anything." Kyle replied and then continued, "We can't trust him, and he's not much good to us."

"He's not even that good looking." Alison replied with a cold smirk on her face. Kyle rolled his eyes and chuckled slightly. John's emotions recoiled at Alison's insult. While she was not Cameron the overwhelming similarity was still nearly too much for him to handle.

Derek continued to stare at John with an icy look in his eyes.

"I'm going to ask one more time, who are you with?" Derek again asked, more anger in his voice this time around, "Skynet?...The Northwest?...Who?" John was becoming more desperate.

"I told you, I'm not with anyone." Derek shook his head.

"Screw it…" He replied as he turned and then stated in a cold and callous voice. "He's no good to us…Kill him…" John felt as if his heart stopped for a moment as he watched Kyle, his father, and Alison turn away from him. The soldier who had been standing next to Derek produced an almost evil grin, took a half step forward towards John and began to raise his rifle. John couldn't believe it. Was this how it was supposed to end? Nothing that he had ever been taught or told could have led him to the conclusion that he would die in such a pointless manner such as this. As John heard the safety on the rifle click off he searched his mind for something, anything that might help him. Then suddenly it came to him.

"Martin Bedell!" John almost shouted the name out. Upon hearing this utterance Alison quickly snapped around, almost if something had hit her.

"What?" She replied with a subtle yet obvious emotional tone behind her voice. Still aiming his rifle at John the soldier glanced over at Derek and Kyle who had also turned at this point. Derek raised his hand slightly gesturing for the soldier to put down his weapon. Alison stepped back towards John.

"What do you know about him?" John raised his eyebrows slightly. There was something in the tone of Alison's voice that suggested feelings far beyond curiosity. This surprised John, and he did not immediately answer. Alison scowled at him,

"WHAT, do you know about him?" She began to take another step towards John, but Kyle quickly grabbed her by the arm pulling her back slightly. Alison whipped her head around towards Kyle, glaring at him. Kyle shook his head ever so slightly in a "no" fashion. She relaxed somewhat and stepped back.

"What do you know about Bedell?" Derek asked in a jaded tone of voice. John was quickly beginning to wonder if he had chosen the right course of action. Obviously this group knew Martin well. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen. John decided that he had to take a chance. Even given his limited knowledge of Martin, John considered himself a pretty good judge of character (at least at times). He guessed that it was still more than likely that knowing Martin would be considered a good thing even in this "alternate" future. John finally spoke,

"I'm with Bedell….I'm with Martin Bedell." John watched as Alison clenched her jaw again continued to stare at him. If it were possible, it appeared she hated him even more now than before. An eerie silence fell over the room for a brief moment before Derek finally spoke,

"Alright kid…we'll see how this plays out." Before Derek could begin another sentence a second soldier came bursting through the door. The thin, fair skinned male with black hair and green eyes was nearly out of breath.

"Sir we found one." Derek jerked his head back over towards the soldier.

"What did you find Spears?"

"A machine…a skin job…"

"What? Where?" Kyle asked quickly with a palpable degree of concern in his voice.

"South side corridors." Spears responded as Derek, Kyle and Alison began to move towards the door. Derek looked back over at the young soldier who was still looking very eager to kill John.

"You, watch him!" Derek responded as he pointed at John and then quickly moved out of the door with his brother and Matthew Spears. Alison also moved towards the door, but then stopped for a moment at the exit, and turned around to look at John.

"If you're lying about Martin…" She hesitated for a moment, "I'll kill you myself." Alison then disappeared through the doorway leaving John alone in the room with one disappointed and solitary soldier.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The room grew ominously quiet after Derek and the rest of the group departed leaving John alone with his guard. Hearing that another Terminator had been located inside the tunnels had greatly disturbed John. Was it John Henry? Was there another Terminator attempting to infiltrate this particular establishment? And if this was John Henry would they attempt to destroy him and worse yet, Cameron's chip? Would his discovery further jeopardize John's safety? All these questions weighed heavily on John's mind and as the seconds dragged on his anxiety grew worse. John felt his heart begin to race as the deafening silence grew longer.

Suddenly, John heard the sound of distant plasma rifle fire echoing down the hallways along with some far off shouting. The weapons fire was sporadic along with the yelling. Then almost as suddenly as it had all begun, dead silence engulfed the room again. The soldier that stood in front of John looked at him and then back at the corridor behind John nervous, quickly snapping his head back and forth between the two points of view. He almost looked more nervous than John, even though John doubted that this was possible. The silence continued on for several more seconds until the soldier produced a slight smirk and spoke,

"I think they got it." John was completely unsure how to feel. Should it be relief or fear that something could have happed to John Henry and in turn Cameron's chip? And where was Catherine Weaver in all this? John had assumed that surely her primary goal in all this would be to protect John Henry. If he was indeed the Terminator that they had caught then where was she? The minutes John spent waiting were excruciating to him.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity Derek emerged through the open door. Out of sheer nervousness this time John stood to his feet. Immediately, the soldier who had remained in the room with John raised his rifle slightly when he saw John move.

"Stand down Perkins…" Derek replied to which Perkins responded by slowly lowering his rifle. Derek took a long hard look at John before speaking again, still with suspicion intermixed in his tone,

"You know we never had one make it this deep inside before." John felt his fear for Cameron's safety growing. "I don't think any base has…and well lived to tell about it." John remained silent all the while feeling as if he were dying inside.

"I find it curious that you seemingly appear out of nowhere, past all our perimeter security, past the dogs, past everything. And then as soon as you show up a machine is caught deeper inside than any other has managed to get before." John clenched his jaw tightly as he attempted to contain all of his emotions. Derek continued,

"So, Martin Bedell?" He asked. John took a long hard swallow before answering.

"What about him?"

"How did YOU ever manage to hook up with him?" John thought for a moment before answering. He knew he could not even use a truthful statement such as they met at Presidio Alto given the age gap they would now have due to John's time jump. However, the next thing that came to John's mind was much more plausible.

"My uncle attended Presidio Alto with Bedell…I met him through my uncle." Derek looked at John cynically not speaking for a moment.

"Alright…" Derek grumbled in a barely audible tone then raised his eyebrows slightly. "Where is your uncle now?" Derek asked no with emotion in his voice. John swallowed again trying with limited success to fight back his own feelings.

"He's dead…He was killed…A machine killed him." John's voice trailed off as he spoke. Derek continued to look at John in a very distrustful manner.

"Were you and your uncle close?" John thought for a brief moment, his responses becoming more jumbled in his head. Finally, he replied in a monotone voice.

"Yeah…he stayed around after my father was killed." Derek tilted his head to the side slightly.

"How was your father killed?" John took another breath still trying to contain his emotions; however he found that this grew harder as every second passed by. Fighting back his tears he responded again,

"The machines…They killed him too." While John did find some sort of strange comfort in the fact that he was discussing a real truth with Derek he also found that the emotional upheaval was nearly too much to stand.

"He was killed by the machines as well?" Derek asked, now slightly acting as if he believed John. Then Derek's expression changed for a brief second. His look was almost compassionate,

"There's a lot of that going around these days." John felt a split second of relief; that is until Derek's cold demeanor returned.

"I'm having Alison look into your Bedell story…We'll find out soon enough if you are telling the truth." John secretly prayed that Martin would still remember him…and more importantly that he still believed him. Another brief second passed before Derek spoke again,

"Why do you look at her that way?" he asked, presumably talking about Alison. John scrambled for an acceptable answer.

"She…she reminds me of a friend." Derek wrinkled his brow for a moment.

"And where is your friend now?' Derek pushed on with the questioning.

"I don't know." John replied in a very somber voice. Then slipping he added, "I was trying to find her."

"Is that how you ended up here?" Derek asked.

"Yes…" John replied still in his solemn voice as he glanced downward. Derek nodded his head, then quickly narrowed his eyes.

"Strange…" Derek replied to which John looked up at him. "That Terminator…He didn't put up much of a fight." John felt his heart plummet into his stomach. "It was like he wasn't even here to fight at all." John felt the strength begin to drain from him as he realized the inevitable.

"No…" John whispered in a barely audible tone to which Derek gave him a curious look. No longer able to stand the uncertainty and not caring what the consequences would be John spoke quietly, trying desperately to hide his emotion, but still allowing some to slip through,

"Her…Its chip…What did you do with it?" John asked. Derek gave him a confused look and answered in an almost matter-of-fact way,

"What do you think the first thing we destroyed was?" John felt as if he were going to be sick. He searched behind him with his hand for the wall to prop himself up as he felt his knee's beginning to go limp. Derek looked at John curiously for another moment as this strange young man struggled to remain on his feet clenching his jaw trying to show no emotion. After another brief second Derek turned and motioned for Perkins to follow him through the door that closed behind both of them, leaving John alone in the room. The moment the door closed John fell back against the wall and then slid down it. When he reached the seated position he brought his knee's to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs and began to sob…

"Cameron…" He said quietly as the tears ran down his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The night air was cool and crisp and the sky with its dark cloud cover brought images of an oil slick to mind. Except for a few random Skynet search lights and debris fires in the distance the coastline was pitch black. The thudding blades of the Blackhawk Helicopter could be heard throughout the area as it flew low and at a rapid speed along the shoreline. The aircraft itself was completely blacked out, with no exterior lighting at all. Looking out the cockpit window with her icy greenish blue eyes, peering through her helmet mounted night vision goggles; the female pilot was easily able to make out the whitecaps of the cresting waves that lay in the waters below her.

The woman's long hair was pulled back in a pony tail and then tucked inside of her helmet so that it did not fall down across her back. She wore black mid calf length boots on her feet, tight dark gray BDU cargo pants, and a snug dark green tank top which slightly exposed her midriff. Over her tank top the woman wore a form fitting faded black, long sleeve BDU jacket that she left unzipped. Her jacket sleeves covered her arms down to her wrists and she wore tight black gloves over her hands. A black nylon belt snaked through her belt loops. Attached to the belt on the right side was a thigh holster containing a Smith & Wesson M&P .45. On the left side of the woman's hips were a few pouches containing extra magazines for her sidearm.

Sitting directly across from her in the copilot's seat was a white male in his early to mid thirties. He had medium length brown hair which just barely touched the back of the collar of his faded green military style jacket and a scar under his left eye. He wore camouflage cargo pants and back combat boots. Like his female companion he carried an M&P 45 on his right hip with a few extra magazines for the handgun located on the opposite side.

"We'll be there in about twenty minutes." The female pilot remarked flatly through the two-way radio located inside of the helmets the pair was wearing. The male nodded his head in acknowledgment upon hearing the statement. As the helicopter flew onward the female pilot continued to slowly scan the coastline in front of them.

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"I told you to keep your damn soldiers off of my boat!" Commander Jesse Flores stated as she stormed through a darkened corridor almost knocking over two poorly dressed civilians that were traveling in the opposite direction. Derek Reese followed close behind her as they walked onward.

"My damn soldiers are the only thing keeping you safe right now." Derek retorted in a callused tone as Jesse turned a corner blowing past an armed guard who immediately moved to stop her. However, before the soldier could reach her, Derek motioned for him to allow her to pass.

"Nothing comes inside this camp without being inspected first." After quickly walking through another doorway into what appeared to be some sort of dilapidated storage room with crates and other various sorts of extra equipment Jesse spun around to face Derek holding her finger up in his face,

"Look!" she said angrily, "The Jimmy Carter is my ship…" continuing to stare Derek down she added,

"My ship not yours. I help you and your Faction out at my own risk and because I want to. I shouldn't have to put up with your soldier's bullshit." Derek stared Jesse down with a fury in his eyes.

"That may be your ship, but those are my weapons and ammo you are getting. Maybe you want to go somewhere else to find those." Jesse stood silently for a moment and looked at Derek with fiery anger in her eyes.

Finally, unable to control herself Jesse grabbed Derek by his jacket and pushed him back, slamming him up against the crates located behind him, pinning him against them with a loud crash. Jesse paused for a moment still looking at Derek with the same blazingly intense look in her eyes. Then she quickly pulled herself to Derek and kissed him. He stood motionless for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Jesse and answered her kiss with his own. Several seconds had gone by before the couples lips finally parted. Jesse looked at Derek and gave him a slight smirk,

"Too much?" she asked playfully. Derek grinned,

"Maybe just a little." He replied and then quickly moved his hands up the sides of her body and under her arms, pulling her to his left and spinning Jesse around and then back down on top of a crate. As he pinned her to it Jesse gasped for breath. Derek began to quickly pull off has jacket as Jesse wrapped her legs around him and yanked her shirt off over her head.

"If your husband ever catches us there is going to be another war..." Derek muttered in a somewhat hushed voice as he began to loosen the equipment belt he wore around his waist. When the Velcro was torn free the belt with Derek's sidearm fell to the ground with a thud.

"Shut up..." Jesse replied breathlessly as she pulled herself up to Derek and resumed kissing him, pulling at his snug fitting undershirt trying to remove it. Once Jesse did managed to get his shirt off, Derek ran his hands back down Jesse's stomach to her waistline and started to unbutton her pants. In response Jesse continued to kiss Derek with a growing passion. Once Derek had removed Jesse's pants he pushed her back onto the wooden crate and pressed his body up against hers. The intensity of their kisses grew for several more seconds.

"DEREK!" A voice shouted. Startled, Derek turned his head quickly away from Jesse and saw Kyle standing behind him with an extremely angry expression on his face. Slowly pulling himself off of Jesse who propped herself part of the way up, Derek partially turned to face Kyle.

"Impeccable timing bro." Derek remarked in an irritated tone. Kyle stood speechless for a brief moment surprised by Derek's response before he spoke,

"Chopper will be here in twenty minutes." Derek raised his eyebrows with an exasperated look on his face,

"And you couldn't have waited ten minutes to tell me this?" Kyle rolled his eyes in response and gave Derek an annoyed sigh.

"Let's just go meet him." Kyle remarked as he turned away from Derek and walked out of the room. Derek looked back at Jesse who was still lying nearly naked on top of the crate.

"Finish this later?" He asked with a slight smirk. Jesse smiled,

"We better..."

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A cool breeze blew across the dirt laden cliff that Kyle and Derek now stood a few yards away from. Hours until dawn, the rock shoreline remained extremely dark. Parked behind Kyle and Derek were three vehicles; two Hum-V's and an older Chevy Bronco. All the vehicles had seen better working days and their dark colored paint needed to be replaced. Nevertheless, they were all still in working order. A few soldiers armed with plasma rifles milled about the vehicles, as Kyle and Derek waited several yards out in front of them.

"You know you're going to get caught don't you?" Kyle said in a somewhat muffled voice, but still loud enough to be heard over the wind and crashing waves located below them.

"Not this again." Derek remarked gruffly. Kyle turned to glare at his brother.

"You're getting careless…I never should have caught the two of you. What if it had been someone else?" Derek chose not to respond.

"We're trying to unite the factions against Skynet and you're screwing one of the faction leader's wives." Kyle's voice grew more annoyed as he spoke.

"Noted…" Derek growled as he stared straight ahead into the dark ocean that lay before them.

"This could destroy everything…This could start another war!" Kyle's voice rose as he spoke. A few of the soldiers who were standing around the vehicles looked up, upon hearing Kyle's elevated voice.

"Keep your voice down…" Derek stated in a harsh tone.

"I don't wanna have my ass shot off because you're to busy trying to put another notch on your bed post." Derek's head quickly turned to look over at his brother.

"It's not like that." Derek snapped. Kyle continued to stare at Derek with quite a bit of anger in his eyes.

"Well…then what is it like?" He asked. Before Derek could respond his voice was cut off by the loud thudding blades of a Blackhawk Helicopter as it rose over the cliff located in front of them. As the helicopter's elevation increased Kyle and Derek shielded their faces slightly from the dirt and debris that was now being kicked up around them by the wind that the helicopter blades produced.

After hovering for a brief moment the Blackhawk rotated its fuselage around and then slowly set down on the flat ground that was located towards the edge of the cliff. The whine of the engines could be heard as they powered down and the blades began to slow. The side door to the Blackhawk sprung open and seven men who were easily recognizable as an organized Special Forces team, dressed in all black, each carrying a plasma rifle, and wearing body armor exited the helicopter rapidly formed a perimeter around the aircraft.

"He certainly knows how to make an entrance…" Kyle remarked as he stood with his hands behind his back.

"Yes…" Derek paused momentarily, "Yes, he does…" Derek responded as he watched as the commandos formed a semicircle circle around the helicopter, all keeping their rifles at the _low ready_.

A few seconds passed as the helicopter blades continued to slow. Finally both doors to the helicopter's cockpit opened and the pilot and copilot stepped out. Upon exiting the aircraft and as her feet hit the ground, the pilot's reddish orange hair, which was still pulled back in a ponytail, fell gracefully across her shoulder. The woman flicked her head back slightly, whipping her hair back around behind her. Moments later the copilot joined and they both walked towards Derek and Kyle.

Upon reaching them, Kyle and Derek both saluted,

"Good to see you again Colonel Bedell." Derek stated. Martin Bedell returned their salute and then responded,

"It's good to see you too, Captain Reese." Bedell and the others lowered their hands as he spoke. Martin then held out his hand to shake Derek's.

"Always good to see a friend…Especially in these times." Derek smiled and shook Bedell's hand.

"So, I understand that you have located an alleged acquaintance of mine?" Martin asked.

"Well, he says he knows you, but I have my doubts…Especially given the manner in which we found him." Derek stated.

"Yes, I heard it was quite unusual."

"Quite frankly I'm surprised you came all the way out here just to see him." Derek added.

"Given the circumstances, I felt it was appropriate." Upon hearing Bedell's response Derek raised his eyebrows with confusion. He then spoke again.

"Shall we go see him?"

"Yes lets." Bedell stated; he then turned to one of his soldiers standing next to him. "Secure the helicopter."

"Yes sir." The male responded. Several of the men quick moved over to the passenger compartment of the helicopter and began to pull out camouflaged tarps which they would use to cover and conceal the Blackhawk. As this was occurring Martin and Derek led the way towards the vehicles, leaving the female pilot and Kyle standing alone for a brief moment.

"I can't believe you fly that thing…" Kyle stated, "Everyone knows the air belongs to Skynet." The beautiful female pilot gave Kyle an arrogant smirk,

"Not while I'm in it…" she responded. The pilot walked past Kyle and followed Martin Bedell and Derek Reese to the vehicles, leaving Kyle with a slightly perplexed look on his face; a moment later he too turned and followed the group. While a few of Colonel Bedell's commandos escorted him, the remaining troopers stayed with the Blackhawk Helicopter.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

The room had remained cool and the air still. The distant thudding of explosions could still be heard and felt through the underground, concrete walls which John remained with his back up against. He had barely moved since receiving the news of John Henry's destruction. In a small part it was because of his exhaustion due to the time lag, but the main reason was that John now had no where to go, or at least he did not know where to go. He did not know where he should go, or even try to go. He stared blankly at the wood and steel door which lay before him. An indescribable blankness had overtaken him. It felt as if all of his emotions had come into conflict with one another and then canceled each other out. He knew he should feel some sense of relief now that he was now with his father and uncle. But they did not know who he was, nor did it appear that they wanted to know. The horrible sadness that John felt due to John Henry's and in turn Cameron's death was being overridden by anger towards nearly everyone for destroying her. While John understood that the people in this timeline could not have known what John Henry was, this knowledge did little to console him.

John had begun to question all of his actions in the past several hours. Had he not come to this timeline John Henry may never have been caught, and in turn Cameron might still be alive. If he had stayed in the present, would it have meant that he could, at some point in the future have been able to get Cameron back? While John did not understand the intricacies of time travel, he at least thought this could have been a possible outcome. John exhaled slowly as the numbness continued to drape itself over him. Just then he heard the door open.

The room was so dimly lit that John was not immediately able to see who emerged through the doorway in front of him. A dark figure now stood in the shadows in front of John, motionless; almost as if he or she were studying him. John heard the person take a breath and then he spoke,

"John Connor…" John's ears perked up slightly and he glanced upward a bit more than he had been doing before.

"Or should I call you John Baum…" The dark figure stated. John's confusion and concern grew slightly worse.

"Who is this?" John thought to himself.

"That's right…I know who you are." The figure remarked.

Finally, the figure stepped into to the light. John did not immediately recognize him. After all, the last time John had seen Martin Bedell he had been a young man. It was easy to see that nearly twenty years of war had taken its toll on him. The weathered skin, scars, and overall look had changed Martin's appearance almost completely. After a few moments of staring, John at last began to piece the mystery together.

"Martin?' John slowly said in a somewhat timid voice. Martin smiled slightly, but still with a suspicious look on his face.

"It's been a long time…Well at least for me that has." John only managed a slight nod. He was still relatively surprised to see Martin Bedell standing before him. While he had used his name to escape imminent death, John did not actually expect to see his old friend ever again. Martin continued to look at John with a slightly distrustful expression.

"How did you get here?" Martin asked somewhat directly.

"That's a bit of a long story." John responded in a somber tone. Martin closed the door behind him and moved a bit further into the room.

"I've got some time." John took a deep breath preparing to explain the events of the last several days in his life. Before he had even started his tale he had decided to tell Martin everything. After all Bedell already knew a good deal of information from their time together at Presidio Alto.

Time drifted on as John told his story and Martin listened intently. At last John reached the point of John Henry's time travel. As he began to divulge these events he felt the lump in his throat growing,

"Cameron gave this new Terminator, this John Henry, her chip so that he could upload himself from _The Turk _into her own chip. We know that John Henry used Catherine Weaver's…" John thought for a moment not exactly what to call the Time Displacement Equipment, "Time machine to travel here. We're not sure as why he did this though." John then took a long pause searching for the correct words to describe his next actions.

"I uh…Then I followed him here to get back Cameron's chip." Martin's eyes perked up slightly. He had a look of both surprise and some empathy expressed in them.

"You followed John Henry here to get Cameron's chip back?" Martin asked.

"Yes…" John said in an emotionally rattled tone. "But, it…it changed everything. No one here knows who I am."

"You erased your past by jumping to the future. A world without John Connor continued onward after your jump. Now it's as if you never existed." John nodded in agreement.

"It was a mistake." he said sadly.

"Did you come alone?" Bedell asked.

"No, Catherine Weaver came with me…But I haven't seen her since shortly after we got here."

"What about John Henry?" Martin asked. John responded as if he were almost in pain.

"I think…I think they destroyed him shortly after I arrived here," John said in a bleak tone of voice, "Along with Cameron…" John's voice trailed off as he spoke. Martin's eyes widened slightly and then he spoke.

"Wait, HE was the Terminator that was caught right after you arrived?"

"I think so." John's voice was almost inaudible.

"Son of a bitch…" Martin whispered. John was so lost in thought he did not immediately notice the shock in Martin's tone.

"Get up…come with me." Martin said in a more excited tone. John looked at him somewhat surprised.

"Get up!" Martin stated in an even more urgent tone. "We may still have time." John rose to his feet not exactly sure what Martin was talking about.

Martin moved quickly over to the door in front of him and opened it, John followed behind him. The moment John stepped through the doorway the guard stationed there began to move towards him, but he was cut off by Martin,

"He's with me!" Martin barked and then motioned with his hand for John to follow him.

The two walked briskly through the dimly lit corridors passing by a few surprised soldiers and some raggedly dress civilians as they did so.

"Where are we going?" John asked as he strove to keep pace with Martin.

"The machine they caught, Reese said they had finished studying it and were going to destroy it." John instantly felt a pang of hope and terror at the same time knowing that there might be a slight chance that Cameron could still be alive. He began to increase his stride. The passage through the winding corridors seemed to take forever in John's mind and his anxiety grew with every step. Although Derek had informed him that Cameron's chip had already been destroyed, John now believed, now hoped that there may have been a slight chance he had been misinformed.

"The room is right up ahead." Martin remarked as he pointed to a doorway in front of them. No longer caring about pretexts John immediately sprinted ahead of Martin in a dash for the room.

"John!" Martin called out as he chased after him. John burst through the doorway and immediately his heart felt as if it had stopped. A crushing weight came tumbling down onto him and he almost fell to his knees. In the center of the medium sized room was a make shift brick fire pit. Inside the pit John could see John Henry's body. Or what was left of it. The brilliant orange glow of the Thermite made it almost impossible to look directly into the flames, but John was able to see the horror none the less. He watched as the fire consumed what was left of John Henry's face and endoskeleton. The smell of sulfur filled the room, as the grayish smoke rose through the make shift ventilation shaft located above the pit. Eventually nothing but fire was left inside of the pit.

John braced himself up against the doorframe trying to stay erect. So overcome with remorse and sadness he did not immediately notice the two soldiers walking towards him with their plasma rifles raised. However, Martin emerged from behind John and he immediately motioning to the two soldiers in front of John. His voice crackled with authority.

"Stand down…He's with me." Martin said as he looked over to the brick and mortar fire pit and the flames that now engulfed the body that lay inside.

"Damn…" Martin said with a long sigh.

John had to struggle to remain on his feet. He felt as if all his hopes were being violently pulled from him. As he stood in the doorway watching the fire burn with a nearly blinding light, he realized there was now, no longer any doubt left in his mind, Cameron…was gone.

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Authors Notes: Okay so before all my Cameron fans out there freak out and swear never to read another word of this story just keep in mind what I said at the beginning of this fan fic, which is that I am a die hard Cameron/Jameron fan as well. Just make sure to keep that in mind.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Recent events had left John in a complete daze. Acting almost as if he did not know where he was, or what he was doing, he wandered the dimly lit corridors searching for a place to rest. After Martin had vouched for him, Derek had reluctantly determined that at least for the time being John was no longer a threat. He had been dismissed from his "holding cell" (if one could call it that), to scour the tunnels for an appropriate place to stay. Whether that might be on the floor in a hallway, or in some sort of actual room; neither Kyle nor Derek seemed to give much thought. Such "trivial" matters did not concern them.

John had hoped to speak further with Martin after being dismissed from what he could only describe as a "command staff" meeting among Derek, Martin, Kyle and several other members of this make shift resistance. The chance was lost when John learned that Martin had disappeared soon after the meeting ended. This troubled John greatly, since it appeared Martin was his only ally, albeit it a very cautious one.

John was left to wander aimlessly through the corridors searching for a place where he could rest and seek solace from the sadness that was now consuming him. Even though he was virtually overcome by despair, he couldn't help but sense the extreme feeling of hostility that seemed to hang in the air around him. Whether it was towards him in particular, or just a general feeling among the people around him, John could not tell.

Suddenly, John felt a searing pain shoot across his back. The sensation was so intense that his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. After his impact with the hard concrete floor and before he could turn to see what was behind him, he was again struck from behind and thrown forwards to the ground. Wincing in pain, John turned his head quickly to see who or what had hit him.

Behind him, John saw three younger males, none older than 18. All were filthy, with tattered clothes stained with dirt and who knows what else smeared about their pale, malnourished faces. One of the boys standing in the center of the group held what appeared to be a two foot piece of iron rebar in his hand.

"Well, well….What do we have here?" The boy with the iron rebar asked in a snide tone. John looked at them confused for a moment. While he was relatively certain that he could defend himself against anyone one of these boys, fighting off three would be substantially more difficult, especially seeing as how one was armed, even if it was with a makeshift weapon. John slowly began to pull his arms under him, preparing to raise himself to his feet.

"Looks like we've got some sort of pretty boy here." The young thug standing to the left stated as he took a slight step forwards. John pushed himself up off the floor, but before he could make it any further the third boy standing to the right of the group moved quickly towards John, kicking him in the face and knocking him to his right side. John saw stars for a brief moment after the impact and seconds later he began to taste the blood that was now running into his mouth and down the side of his cheek from a gash on his lip.

"Nobody told you to get up…" The boy who had just struck John said as he pulled back away from him, and into the safety of the rest of his gang.

"Come on lets have it." The male with the weapon, who appeared to be the leader of this rag tag pack, said in an angry voice.

"Have what?" John asked, not quite sure what to expect.

"Whatever you've got…" Came the quick response. "A pretty boy such as yourself must have something. You don't get to looking as good as you do without having something."

"I don't have anything." John stated a slight sadness in his voice upon the realization that he really did not have anything at all. The group began to move closer to John, descending on him almost as a pack of wolves would.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." One of the boys stated. Before John could respond to the stale witticism the boy to the right moved in to kick him again. However, more prepared this time John managed to catch the boy's foot. John, still on his side lifted his body slightly off the ground and struck the aggressor just above the kneecap with his forearm. Lurching his upper body forward and yelping in pain the boy fell backwards onto the ground before crawling away. The counter attack did not buy John any respite. Before he could bring himself to his feet he was struck again by the metallic weapon, this time in the rib cage. Groaning in pain, he fell back to the floor.

Looking behind him, John saw the third unarmed male approaching from near his feet. Pulling himself from the ground and to all fours, John quickly kicked his left leg back striking the male in the chest and almost knocking him to the ground. John was then struck again with a glancing blow across the side of his head by the metal rebar. Once again he saw a flash of stars and nearly collapsed. Before regaining his vision he was kicked hard in the stomach by someone's foot. Combined with the earlier impact the pain had become excruciating, nearly forcing him to double over in agony and again fall back to the ground on his side.

Trying to shake the blurriness from his eyes John saw the gang now approaching him again, one of the boys still limping from John's earlier strike.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." One of the males stated in an eager tone. John attempted to stand quickly, which was much more difficult now that his body ached. However, before he could rise to his feet one of the males tackled him knocking him onto his back.

Now straddling John, the boy struck John in the face slamming his head back against the hard floor. The next blow came to John's lower body and it became, readily apparent that someone was now kicking him again. John held his forearms in front of his face in an attempt to shield himself from the blows that were now raining down upon him.

Desperate, John shifted his weight in an attempt to throw off the male that was on top of him off. Unfortunately, this only worked temporarily and after regaining his balance the male once again began to hurl blows at John. Between the impacts John observed the male with the metallic weapon emerge over top of him and he knew it would soon be over. Again, John sensed a feeling of disbelief. He wondered if this was the way the "great" John Connor would die, in a simple mugging by some tunnel rats.

The male at John's feet was still kicking and punching John's lower body. He was swinging wildly away, attempting to do as much damage as possible, but in actuality he seemed unsure where he should be striking in order to achieve maximum effect. Suddenly, and unexpected the boy felt himself being jerked from behind by his collar and a split second later he was struck in the knee by the rubber sole of a boot. There was a loud pop, and a searing pain shot up the male's leg, as he collapsed to the ground and cradling his leg and howling in pain.

Startled, the boy with the iron rebar weapon standing above John turned his gaze over to the dark figure that had so quickly dispatched his "friend". He then rapidly moved towards the mysterious rescuer raising the metal weapon. He did not get far. A gunshot rang out and the male's head jerked back uncontrollably. His body instantly went limp and he crumbled to the ground in a heap.

Seizing the momentary distraction John again shifted his weight over to his right and managed to throw off the boy that was on top of him off and to the ground. John then pulled his hand back and struck the male in the face. The boy quickly pulled himself to his feet and dashed down the hallway away from John and his unknown protector.

John scanned the area quickly and saw the one attacker lying on the ground dead, while the other cradled his knee shrieking in pain.

"Some hero you turned out to be…" A voice said from the shadows. John quickly looked in the direction of the sound,

"Can't even defend himself from a couple of tunnel rats." John strained his eyes to see as the individual emerged into the light.

She was a beautiful fair skinned woman who was probably in her later 20's with reddish orange hair pulled back in a pony tail. She wore black mid calf length boots, tight dark gray BDU cargo pants, and a snug dark green tank top which slightly exposed her mid riff. Overtop of her tank top the woman wore a form fitting faded black, long sleeve BDU jacket which was unzipped. She still held her M&P .45 in her right hand.

"I remember you being a lot tougher…and taller." She stated bluntly.

Still somewhat surprised John sat on the floor attempting to decide who this person was. The female shook her head.

"You don't even remember me do you?" John stared at her for quite a bit longer, and then in a shocking revelation it came to him.

"Sa…Savannah?" He asked in a surprised tone.

Savannah Weaver nodded her head in response to John's question.

"That's right." She answered.

"What are you doing here?" John asked in near disbelief as he began to slowly pull himself up off the ground.

"I'm here with Colonel Bedell." She responded flatly.

"How did you end up with him?" John asked. Savannah gave John a flustered look and then responded.

"It's a long story…Do you really want to discuss it here?" John looked around him.

"I suppose not."

"Good, let's go then." Savannah responded as she holstered her weapon and turned to walk away from John, who was now looking down upon the male lying dead at his feet. John then briefly looked over at the other boy now cowering in the corner. He found it strange that the once arrogant and cocky male that moments before had been attempting to kill him was now curled in fear in the corner. A Strange, but oddly pleasing sensation crept over John. Dismissing these thoughts John quickly began to follow after Savannah.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he caught up to her. Still speaking in a slightly annoyed tone Savannah responded,

"Well first off, we probably need to find you a safe place to stay. As you can see some areas are more dangerous than others." John nodded his head at what was now unquestionably an extreme understatement to him.

"Where is Martin? I mean Colonel Bedell?" John asked as he followed next to Savannah who looked over at him with a chafed look.

"He's attending to some personal business." This response slightly puzzled John, but no more so than anything else that seemed to be out of place in this particular timeline. Savannah continued onward down the winding corridors with John following closely at her side.

.

.

.

The room was dark; the only illumination came from a pair of candles that were set on the ground in the far corner of the dwelling. One could barely make anything out in the room itself except the scent of sweet perfume lingering in the air. In times such as these anything as extravagant as perfume would have come at an extremely high price. Martin slowly made his way across the small darkened chamber.

"You should not have come here..." A voice said from the shadows. Martin looked around for a brief moment.

"I had to."

"He was not worth the risk." The voice responded in a somewhat more provocative manner. Martin took another step deeper into the room.

"Maybe...but that's something I need to determine for myself."

"What could possibly make you think that he could be any kind of asset?" The feminine voice asked as it grew closer. Martin slowly scanned the room with his eyes as he paused for a moment to think.

"Let's just call it a hunch." There was silence for another moment and then nothing at all could be heard. Stillness now encompassed the room as the ghostly lull continued onward. Then, a female emerged completely naked from out of the blackness in front of Martin.

"Hunches, such as these can get you killed." Alison Young said in a seductive tone. Martin smiled briefly before responding.

"They haven't yet." Alison slinked her way closer to Bedell, until she was finally standing directly in front of him.

"I don't trust him. He will bring horrible things upon this place. I can feel it." Alison whispered with a determined finality in her voice as she slowly ran her hands up the sides of Martin's body.

"You're going to have to trust me." Martin quietly, but confidently responded. Alison grinned and pulled her body up against his.

"You know I don't trust anyone." she stated in a sly voice. Martin raised his eyebrow.

"Not even me?" He asked as Alison cupped her hands around the back of his head and pulled Martin closer to her.

"Especially not you." She responded playfully and with a smile as she drew Martin in and kissed him.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"So he told you about me…and what will happen…or has already happened?" John asked as he and Savannah walked through a winding darkened corridor. He found it quite difficult to grasp how he could comfortably speak about the future that he was now in, but which was apparently a present timeline for everyone else.

"He tried to relay as much information to me as he could once he thought I was old enough to understand." Savannah stated and then paused for a brief moment as if she were searching for the right words to say.

"Some of his information came directly from your mother…" John stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his mother.

"What happened to my mother?" He asked with an anxiety riddled voice. Savannah turned her body slightly towards John as she searched for the correct statement.

"With every law enforcement agency in the country looking for her…" Savannah hesitated for a brief second, "…she didn't last long." John felt a sickening feeling begin to grow in his stomach.

"What HAPPENED to my mother?" he asked again with a bit of anger in his voice this time around. While he was not angry at Savannah the weight of the situation was quickly overpowering him.

"She was caught and arrested shortly after the incident at Zeira Corporation." John used his hand to brace himself against the wall as he felt the strength draining out of him.

"Everyone viewed her as some sort of domestic terrorist…she didn't receive much sympathy when she was convicted." John's eyes widened slightly.

"She received the death penalty, but Judgment Day occurred before it could be carried out." Savannah shifted her eyes slightly downward towards the ground

"I'm sorry John; I don't know what happened to her after that." John exhaled slowly as he tried to take it all in.

"So she could still be alive?" He asked, however he felt almost certain that the answer would be "no".

"I don't know." Savannah replied. "All I know is that I'm one of the last people left alive that knows anything about your story and she has never contacted me." John stood silent for a moment, and then suddenly the rest of Savannah's statement came through to him.

"One of the last ones left? What about Mr. Ellison?" Savannah's eyes immediately shifted back down towards the ground.

"He was…he was murdered." She responded and then added, "Just a few weeks before Judgment Day." Still racked with sorrow for his mother, John leaned up against the wall and spoke in a quiet voice,

"I'm sorry." he said, however, Savannah did not immediately respond. For a moment she stood silently staring at the ground. Then she slowly looked up at John.

"You know the man that killed him." Savannah's words were not a question, but a statement and this shocked John. How could he know who killed Mr. Ellison?

"What do you mean I know him?" he asked. There was another brief pause by Savannah before she spoke again, this time only saying one name.

"Danny Dyson." These words horrified John. The last time he had seen Danny, he had been a child. Surely this was a mistake.

"I think…I think Dyson knew what was about to happen and he knew that James would be a valuable asset in the future. Especially with everything that Sarah had told him." John leaned his head back against the wall still attempting to absorb this revelation. After a brief moment an unusual question came to him,

"He didn't come after you as well?" John asked. The instant he did so, John saw a look of anguish immediately streak across Savannah face. Then there was a sudden change to something else. Her look appeared to be a culmination of fear, anger, dread, sorrow, and pain. Finally, Savannah spoke, a certain eerie, raspiness in her voice,

"He did…" There was another few seconds of silence between the pair before Savannah spoke. "Come on..." She said as she motioned with her head back down the hallway, turned and began to walk away from John, who remained speechless. Amongst all the other turmoil and questions in his mind, John had to wonder exactly what Danny Dyson had done to Savannah. What had befallen her? John slowly pushed away from the wall and began to silently follow her.

.

.

.

Alison Young stretched her bare arms out above her head stretching her body. She arched her back slightly underneath the thin sheets which barely covered her naked body. Turning her head she looked over at Martin and smiled slightly.

"That was nice…" She said, in an archly seductive tone. But soon afterwards her facial expression changed to one of dismay.

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" She asked. Martin nodded his head.

"They need me back at my camp." He paused for a brief moment then spoke again.

"Ever since Perry's faction began their push for more ground, it's become even more difficult for me to be away." Alison nodded her head.

"I understand." She replied as her eyes shifted away from Martin. After a moments silence she then looked back at him.

"I could." Alison hesitated for a moment trying to hide her emotion. "I could always go back with you." Though she tried to conceal it, there was a distinct pleading look hidden behind her eyes. Martin took a long slow breath and before he could speak Alison interrupted him, betraying her emotions even further,

"I could be useful; I could help your faction." Martin glanced down towards the foot of the mattress they were lying on before speaking in a saddened voice.

"I know you could, but you know how badly they need you here." He hesitated, "You know…I need you here." Alison fought back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

"I know." She replied solemnly. She then rolled slightly over on her side still looking at Martin. Another few seconds of silence drifted by as the couple lay next to each other. Then a slight smile danced across Alison's face.

"Doesn't mean we can't have as much fun as we can while you're here." Martin looked back over at Alison and smiled,

"You do know how to lighten the mood don't you?" He asked. Alison's smile broadened,

"It's one of my many talents" She responded in a mischievous tone as she gently leaned over and kissed Martin. After a few seconds, he responded by slowly sliding his arms around her, pulling her on top of him.

.

.

.

The screeching sound of the metal hinges awoke John from his slumber. He immediately sat upright on the dirty mattress where he lay on. Looking over towards the door of the small room he observed Savannah stepping through the doorway.

"Sorry…" she replied, "…didn't mean to disturb you. I just came to get some maps for the Colonel." John blinked his eyes a few times trying to focus.

"It's okay." He replied. Before he could make another statement Savannah interrupted him.

"You get any sleep?" she asked.

"A little…" John replied as Savannah made her way over to a backpack located on the floor across from him and began to search through it, eventually pulling out several folded pieces of paper, presumably maps. As she stood from her kneeling position she looked briefly at John with an almost curious look. After a few seconds of this John spoke,

"What?" he asked. Savannah stood silently for another moment before speaking.

"So you really came here for it didn't you?" John gave Savannah a somewhat confused look, even though he was relatively certain what she was talking about.

"For it?" he asked, accidentally letting some anger slip through his tone of voice over the possibility that Savannah was calling Cameron an "it".

"For your machine friend…For Cameron." Savannah stated in a somewhat apologetic tone and then continued,

"You came across time for her." John opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He found it strange that in all the time he had to think about the actions he had done, he had in actuality not done so. His initial reaction to go with Catherine Weaver had been more of a reaction rather than a thought out plan. In fact John had avoided asking himself this specific question because in actuality he really did not want to answer it. However, while he had avoided a precise verbal response, his emotional state was far more betraying. John knew exactly why he had followed Cameron to this new and twisted future.

John sat silently, choosing not to reply to Savannah's question. He did not want to answer. He did not know how to answer. Savannah wrinkled her forehead in an ever so slight bit of annoyance.

"She really did a number on you didn't she?" Savannah asked. John gave her another perplexed look.

"What do you mean?"

"Cameron…She got you to actually care about her." Savannah paused briefly then continued,

"I mean, I completely understand, they're very good at that. I thought one was my mother for quite some time. But, I was young then, and this is different." Savannah took another step closer to John looking into his eyes with her icy green irises. She then gave out a slightly arrogant laugh and smiled.

"She did it didn't she."

"Did what?" John asked becoming more defensive by the second. Then something strange happened which completely took him off guard. The look of arrogance on Savannah's face faded. She now had a look John could only describe as sadness now encompassing her. Savannah moved slightly closer to him. She discretely placed the maps she had in her left hand down on the floor at the foot of the mattress where John was seated. Slowly Savannah sat down at the foot of the bed across from him turning her body so that she could lean her back up against the wall. She tucked one leg under the other trying to sit comfortably. Turning slowly to John she spoke in a more soothing voice.

"She got you to fall in love with her." John sat speechless with a look of shock on his face. Savannah smiled slightly letting out a slight chuckle and spoke in an almost solemn voice,

"Not something I encounter all that often." John tilted his head slightly to the side, having apparently picked up this mannerism from Cameron somewhere along the way.

"What?" he asked.

"Love…" Savannah responded quietly. John took a deep breath as Savannah continued.

"Most people here just take what they can get…or if they have enough power they take what they want." There was a certain remorseful sadness in Savannah's voice as she spoke. There was another moment of silence between them before Savannah spoke again.

"So you haven't seen Catherine since you got here?" John found the break from the original discussion somewhat jarring but managed to recover and rendered a response.

"Not since shortly after I got here." Savannah shook her head.

"Knowing her, you may never see her again." John frowned slightly upon hearing this. While he had no idea where Catherine Weaver currently was he surmised that she would at least make contact with him at some point. Savannah leaned her head back resting it up against the concrete wall that she was resting against.

"Bitch killed my parents." She said quietly.

"What?" John asked in a surprised tone. Savannah glanced over at John.

"That thing, what you knew as Catherine Weaver. She killed my mother and father."

"How do you know?" John asked.

"It's kind of obvious." Savannah stated. "Terminators don't allow the person or people they replace to live. My father was an excellent pilot and I don't buy that he would have let his helicopter deteriorate to such a state that it would have went down due to something as simple as metal fatigue." Not knowing what to say John nodded his head acknowledging Savannah's well-made points.

"Who knows what she would have done to me if I had figured out what she was."

"I don't think she was working with Skynet though." John added

"I don't care who she was with…She KILLED my parents." John nodded his head again in solemn agreement.

The pair remained in silence for the time being until suddenly a noise could be heard coming through the walls of the room. It was the sound of helicopter blades. Savannah quickly looked up towards the ceiling.

"Skynet?" John asked with a certain anxiety in his voice. Savannah shook her head,

"Skynet doesn't use choppers…"

"One of yours then?" Savannah shook her head again.

"No…we would never fly this close to someone else's camp unless…" Her voice trailed off as she quickly stood and picked up the maps that she had lain down at the foot of the mattress and threw them inside of her backpack, pulling it around her shoulder.

"We need to go…NOW!" She moved towards the door. John quickly rose from his seated position and followed after her. Upon reaching the door Savannah glanced back at him.

"We need to get you a weapon." She said as she drew her side arm and slowly opened the door in front of her.

"What's going on?" John asked. Savannah turned to him just before moving through the doorway.

"We're being attacked…by other humans." After speaking Savannah motioned with her head for John to follow her and then moved through the doorway.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The gunfire echoed down the dimly lit winding corridors as John and Savannah moved cautiously onward. After hearing the first few shots John found that he was aware of something quite odd. He recognized that the rounds that were being discharged were not in fact plasma rounds, but rifle rounds; more than likely of the 5.56mm or .223 caliber family. While he had never heard a plasma rifle fire, he had been around and heard many M-16's, AR-15's, and M-4's and he immediately recognized the distinctive crack of the rifle fire. For a moment this confused him as he continued to move forwards listening to the sound of gunfire emanating towards him. The only logical solution that John could come up with was that plasma rifles and ammunition were in short supply in this timeline. So when doing battle with other factions the humans would resort back to conventional weapons. People were after all much easier to kill than machines. But, this presented a very dangerous situation. If Skynet chose to attack the two warring factions while they were in battle, both human sides would be virtually defenseless against the machines due to their choice in weaponry.

"This way…" Savannah stated to John as she rushed down an adjacent corridor located to their left. As John and Savannah continued down the tunnel the sound of gunfire grew more heated. John saw soldiers running past them and towards the gunfire, while at the same time civilians were running in the opposite direction. John could now smell the pungent aroma of gunpowder and sulfur that was lingering in the air. Chaos was enveloping the underground caverns.

Savannah and John eventually came to a "Y" shaped junction in the corridor and he could hear the growing sound of gunfire echoing down the hallway to his left. However, Savannah motioned with her head for John to follow her down the right hallway.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"I told you, we need to get you a weapon." Savannah responded as she began to walk slightly faster. After another few minutes of progress, they rounded a corner, which lead to a short hallway with a doorway located at the end. Two rather large guards armed with plasma rifles stood on either side of the door.

Cautiously, Savannah approached the two men. John assumed that they recognized her due to their lack of an immediate reaction upon seeing someone walking towards them. As Savannah grew closer one of the guards spoke,

"Yes, Ms. Weaver?" There was a certain snide contempt, mixed with distrust in his voice.

"I need a weapon for my friend here." Savannah responded. To which the soldier to Savannah's left shook his head and spoke.

"I'm not letting you into the armory…at least not as long as you're with him." The guard spoke angrily as he looked over Savannah's shoulder at John.

The gunfire was now growing closer, and John could sense his heart rate increasing as the danger continued to approach. Savannah clenched her teeth slightly in annoyance at the soldier's dismissal of her request.

"Let me in Matthews…" Savannah stated a somewhat more annoyed voice. "Bedell has already vouched for him." Amid all the hatred that he had felt in this new timeline, John found it slightly consoling to see that at this point someone actually appeared to be defending him. Nevertheless, the rapidly approaching gunfire and explosions did little to soothe his mind.

"I don't care who vouched for him, he's not getting inside. For all I know he's working with Skynet." Savannah dropped her head slightly mumbling something under her breath that John wasn't quite able to make out, nor was he sure he wanted to. Looking back up at Matthews, Savannah took another breath to speak. However, before she could do so, John suddenly heard the crack of a rifle come from behind him which was quickly followed by the hiss of a round as it streaked past him. Startled, John naturally ducked and sought cover behind some of the concrete debris located around him.

Savannah flinched, briefly closing her eyes as the bright red blood spattered across her fair skinned face. At the same moment Matthews's upper body lurched back after being struck in the throat by the high velocity round. Grabbing his throat and gasping for breath Matthews fell back against the concrete wall and slid down it, leaving a streak of blood behind to stain the wall as he did so. Savannah ducked slightly and turned, drawing her handgun from its holster as she did so. The second guard standing to her right immediately raised his plasma rifle and began to fire. When the plasma rifle discharged John noted that there was a much higher pitched, almost screeching sound to the weapon.

Diving behind some sandbags that had been placed in the corridor for this very purpose, Savannah and the remaining soldier quickly took cover and opened fire with their weapons at the enemy soldiers who were advancing down the hallway.

"John, stay down!" Savannah called as she knelt behind the sandbags, replacing the empty magazine in her handgun with a fresh one.

John did his best to crouch behind the concrete debris as the battle raged on. A brief moment or two passed before he realized something. He did not particularly like the idea of hiding at all. Before, he had come to this timeline; hiding was virtually all he had ever done. Albeit primarily due to the advice of his mother, the thought of letting others do his fighting was no longer acceptable. Looking around John immediately noticed the now dead soldier's plasma rifle. It was still strapped to his chest but John knew he would be able to loosen it with ease.

Moving carefully from behind his position of cover John made his way over to Matthews's body all the while hearing the bullets streak past him. Glancing over her shoulder Savannah noticed what John was doing. Moving slightly father out from behind the sandbags, Savannah fired her Smith & Wesson .45 more rapidly, attempting to draw some of the fire away from John, who was now pulling the rifle from the dead soldier's body.

Gaining control of the weapon and a spare magazine John quickly moved back behind the concrete rubble. He quickly examined the firearm so as to get a feel for the weapon itself. While he had received no formal training on the use of a plasma rifle, he was reasonable certain that the mechanics of most firearms were relatively similar with only design changes due to manufacturers or styles. Noting that there appeared to be no trigger safety John surmised that the weapon was ready to fire.

Carefully leaning out from behind the debris, John aimed the rifle and squeezed the trigger. He heard the plasma rifle discharge and was somewhat surprised to feel the lack of recoil. While this weapon was highly advanced compared to what he had been trained with, John had still assumed that there would have been a stronger jolt when firing it. Due to this mistaken assumption John was forced to catch himself upon leaning forwards too much in anticipation of a more significant recoil. Immediately readjusting his position and stance John fired again, this time striking the corner of the wall where the enemy soldiers were located. Upon impact the plasma round produced a large grapefruit sized hole in the corner of the concrete wall.

The weapons fire grew more intense around John as the battle inside the corridor raged. While only a few enemy soldiers were actually located in the immediate area their position made dispensing with them relatively difficult. John carefully leaned out from behind the concrete debris again, taking aim at the 90 degree corner that was in front of him waiting for the enemy to emerge. A few seconds went by and then John saw a young male emerge from around the corner with what appeared to be an M-4 assault rifle. A split second later John squeezed the trigger on his plasma rifle and heard it fire. He watched as a purplish colored plasma bolt streaked through the hallway striking the enemy soldier in the chest. There was a brief yelp before the man's body jolted backwards and then fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

John held his position waiting for the next enemy solider to emerge. Seconds drifted on and the hallway remained quiet. Glancing over at Savannah John watched as she and the other resistance soldier slowly stood, still holding their weapons at the ready. John hesitated slightly before he too rose from behind cover, but Savannah quickly motioned to him with her left hand to stay in his current position. John responded with a quizzical look, to which Savannah shook her head in a "no" fashion.

"Not yet…" She whispered to him in a quiet tone. She then turned to the male standing next to her,

"Richardson, come with me."

With their weapons still raised, Savannah and Richardson slowly began to make their way forwards towards the turn in the corridor. The echoes of gunfire could still be heard in the distance, but for the moment this particular corridor itself was silent.

Richardson, a young male soldier who could be no older than 25, slowly stepped ahead of Savannah and made his way around the corner of the hallway, leading with his plasma rifle. Making ever so slow movements he was finally able to clear the hallway.

"They're gone…" He replied to Savannah in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Slowly glancing around, Savannah turned to look back at John and motioned with her hand for him to follow her.

"Come on…"She replied as she quickly took a step forwards towards the sound of battle noise.

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.

.

Alison Young ran quickly down the darkened concrete corridor gasping for breath as she did so and cradling her now bleeding left arm. She heard the sudden hiss of a bullet as it streaked by her. Now gripped with fear, she struggled to keep her composure. She fought to keep her tears back as she rounded a corner and heard bullets ricochet off the concrete wall as she did so. The wound in Alison's arm throbbed and the pain increased exponentially as she continued a desperate flight.

Suddenly, a large Hispanic male stepped out from a side doorway striking Alison in the throat with his hand and nearly lifting her off her feet as he did so. Collapsing to the ground with a thud, Alison coughed and gasped for breath feeling her trachea constricting from the blow. Looking up, she could see a man now standing over her. She could also hear the footsteps of other soldiers approaching from behind her. Still struggling to breathe, Alison tried to crawl away from the enemy soldier. But when she looked up, she saw two more soldiers approaching her, both carrying assault rifles. There was no place for her to go.

Slowing to a walk, the two men approached Alison.

"Found a good one didn't you Hector?" One of the men stated. The Hispanic male standing over Alison smiled slightly.

"Suppose so…" he responded and then began to laugh.

The man's laughter seemed to echo down the halls as Alison looked hopelessly around at the enemy soldiers now standing over her. She knew a struggle would be futile. There was virtually no hope of escape. However, Alison was still not willing to give up so easily. Kicking the man closest to her, she fought to get back on her feet.

Suddenly she felt a searing pain streak across her face as she was hit. Blood slowly began to trickle down her lip from the impact. The inevitability of the situation began to set in with Alison.

"Help me!" she cried out as she lay on the ground waiting for what was soon to come. And then she heard another voice roar.

"Cameron!" John screamed, oblivious to what he was actually saying as he raised his rifle. A split second later he squeezed the trigger feeling the weapon discharge. The Hispanic male who was still standing over Alison jerked his upper body forwards as he was hit from behind. The plasma bolt tore through his body, and exploded out from his chest and continued its travel down the corridor. The enemy soldier then collapsed next to Alison. The two males standing across from him jumped back slightly and tried to raise their weapons in response to this unanticipated threat.

Next to fire was Savannah, quickly followed by Richardson. One of the soldiers standing over Alison was hit in the shoulder by a plasma bolt, his body spun around and he quickly fell to the ground. The other soldier was struck in the chest by one of Savannah rounds. He too stumbled back and then collapsed to the ground.

John quickly moved towards Alison and upon reaching her position he glanced over her body. He saw the blood that was now running from her lip and from the wound on her shoulder. John could feel the rage grow within him. An almost blinding anger seized him as he saw what was in his mind as Cameron lying injured on the ground before him. Looking up he saw the wounded enemy soldier struggling to get to his feet. John quickly moved past Alison over to the man. The moment he reached him, he raised his foot and struck the soldier in the chest knocking him back to the ground. He then raised his rifle pointing it at the prone figure. There was a chillingly lifeless look on John's face as he squeezed the trigger to his plasma rifle.

The man's body fell back towards the ground, striking the hard surface with a fleshy thump. John remained over the soldier's body coldly studying it, his blank lifeless stare still gazing down upon the now dead body. John's anger grew unabated. He squeezed the trigger to his rifle again, and then again, and then again. He let out a blood curtailing scream as he fired. It was almost as if John's rage, hatred, fury, and despair were all bursting forth out of him.

"JOHN!" Savannah screamed, pulling him from what had become an overwhelming murderous rage. John glanced back at the group that was now looking at him with an almost terrified look on all their face. He then turned his attention to Alison.

"Are you…Are you okay." John asked, his voice somewhat quaking from all the emotions that were now coursing over him. Still stunned Alison did not immediately respond.

"Cameron…" John stated, still not paying any attention to what he was actually saying. Alison gave John both a scared and puzzled look.

"Who's Cameron?" She asked. John looked curiously at Alison for a moment. In his current state of discord, he could not completely absorb what Alison was now asking him. In John's eyes, Cameron was still lying injured on the floor before him. Another moment of silence drifted by as the group stared at John who looked back at them with his blank stare.

"Alison…" Savannah finally broke the silence. "Are you okay?" Alison turned her head away from John momentary looking up at Savannah.

"Yeah…" she responded, "I'm fine." She then turned back to look at John who still appeared to be in a daze. There was an unmistakable look of confusion about his face.

"John…" Savannah stated in a more direct voice breaking John's attention away from Alison and bringing it to her.

"We need to find Derek." She added. Pulling himself from the almost catatonic state that had overtaken him John nodded his head in response.

"Yeah…Derek…"

Savannah held out her hand towards Alison helping her to her feet. As she stood Savannah noticed the look that remained on Alison's face. While it was obvious that she was grateful that John had saved her life, his reaction after the threat had been eliminated seemed to greatly disturb her.

"Let's go." Savannah said as she slowly stepped past Alison and moved away down the darkened corridor. The group slowly passed by John as he stood silently still attempting to understand what had just taken a hold of him. While he could not fully comprehend what had just occurred John did deduce one thing…He seemed to like it.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"You wanna explain to me exactly what the hell that was?" Savannah stated in a subdued yet annoyed tone as she walked along side John, ahead of Alison and Richardson. John could only shrug his shoulders.

"I don't know…" he replied solemnly. "I thought…" John cut himself off in mid sentence.

"You thought Alison was her…" Savannah stated in a stricter tone finishing John's initial sentence. John nodded his head.

"Yeah…" Savannah shook her head as they rounded a corner. As this occurred John noticed that the gunfire was now much more distant and far more sporadic. He took this to mean that Derek's forces must have been succeeding in repelling the invading faction.

"We can't afford to have you losing it out here." Savannah stated. "If you can't handle this…" John cut Savannah off.

"I'm fine!" He stated, unintentionally raising his voice enough so that Alison and Richardson were able to hear him. Both parties glanced at each other with a somewhat perplexed and disturbed look about their faces.

Coming around a second turn the group approached a doorway guarded by a few soldiers. Beyond the entranceway John could make out Derek, Kyle and several other men milling about inside of the room. Walking past the guards Savannah, John, and the rest of the group entered a larger room. Like many of the other rooms in this establishment it was poorly lit. However adding to the illumination, was the light from a few laptop computers that were scattered about the area. Each one had an individual sitting at it. In the center of the room surrounded by Derek, Kyle, Bedell and a few other men was a large square table. The wood finish had obviously seen much better days as deep cuts and scratches could easily be viewed. Strewn across the table were maps, some of which appeared to be hand drawn, along with other various forms of paperwork.

"Have the men push the Northwest Faction's soldiers back to corridor A1." Derek stated.

"That should give our guys enough cover to help to drive them out." One of the men standing across from Derek nodded his head and raised a radio to his face which he had retrieved from his belt and began to talk into it.  
"Perry's growing bolder by the day." Kyle stated in an irritated tone.

"With his forces growing by the day I'm not surprised." Bedell responded and then continued. "Soon he'll outnumber both of us by at least two, to one." Derek sighed.

"If we could bring more factions over to us we may stand a chance."

"Many of them don't wanna go up against Perry though. They're concerned enough with Skynet they don't want to have to worry about fighting him as well." Kyle responded.

"Perry's not concerned with Skynet…not unless he's actually attacked." Derek said and then added,

"I think he'd be willing to share everything with Skynet if it would give him more power."

"You're right, if we didn't know any better…" Kyle stopped in mid sentence, "What's HE doing here?" Kyle then barked as he looked over at John who had just entered the room with Savannah.

"I brought him here…" Savannah snapped back at Kyle in her usual semi-arrogant tone. "If it wasn't for John, Perry's men may have been walking in here now." Kyle ground his teeth slightly in response looking back over at Derek and then over at Bedell who raised his hand slightly in a "calm down" motion.

Moving in behind Savannah and John, Alison made her way over towards the table and along side Bedell, attempting to get close to him without being completely obvious. Seeing her blood and wounds Martin's facial expression became one of immediate concern. Alison responded by shaking her head attempting to convey an "I'm okay" message. Martin retracted by allowing his facial features to relax slightly. He then looked back over at Derek.  
"When I get back to my camp I'll see about having some more of my men positioned closer to our borders. They will at least be able to assist you in a more rapid fashion if you need them." Derek nodded his head upon hearing this.

"How soon can you get back?" Derek then asked, "I think we're going to need all the help you can give us." Upon hearing this Alison quickly looked back over at Martin, wanting to speak but saying nothing.

"It's not safe to fly this close to dawn. But come nightfall I believe that a return trip may be easier." Derek again nodded his head again.

"Agreed..." Alison sneaked a lingering glance at Martin. While it was not completely obvious there was indeed a deep sadness that could be seen in her eyes.

.

.

.

"I don't understand…" Alison stated in an irritated tone as she walked across her room towards Martin. "Why him?"

"It's hard to explain." Martin responded attempting to be evasive as he zipped up a shoulder bag and then stood to his feet.

"He has to come with me."

"Why?..." Alison asked, "How can you trust him? We don't even know whose side he is actually on. Or if he even has a side. We don't even know what he's capable of. I told you what happened with the Northwest faction soldier after he killed him." Alison's voice grew more concerned as she continued to speak.

"Please Martin…" She replied. "Please don't trust him." Alison's voice now grew quieter as she spoke. Martin moved over closer to Alison and gently placed his arms on her shoulders.

"You don't have to trust him." He stated, "But you can trust me." Alison stood silently for a moment before her eyes began to glisten with tears.

"You trust me right?" Martin asked in a soothing tone to which Alison shook her head. When she did so the movement shook a single tear free from her eyes which now rolled down her cheek.

"I'll be fine…I promise. I just need to take care of some things." Alison remained quiet as Martin spoke. Bedell then slowly leaned forwards and kissed her passionately on the lips so as to say goodbye, and to promise to return. Martin reluctantly shouldered his pack and moved past Alison and over towards the doorway.

"Martin…" Alison stated without actually turning to face him. Bedell stopped in the door also not turning around to face Alison.

"I love you…" Alison stated in a weak tone. Martin stood silently in the doorway for a few moments before he actually responded.

"I know…" He finally whispered. Bedell then walked through the open door and down the dimly lit corridor leaving Alison alone in her room.

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.

.

John slowly ran the tips of his fingers down the soft skin of her back as he gently kissed her neck. Feeling the warmth of her body pressed up against his brought a certain comfort that John had not felt in a long while. Moving his hands back up her body he gradually slid his hands through her hair, which flowed down across her shoulders. John then felt her lips press up against his bare chest as she began to move down his body. Slowly exhaling he allowed himself to relax and pressed his head back against the soft pillow that rested behind him. As she slowly moved her head back up his body kissing his neck John took a breath and then in a soft voice he whispered,

"Cameron…"

John felt Cameron's tongue slowly running up the side of his neck as he pulled her closer to him. There was a slight moan on her part as she made her way further up John's body kissing him and kissing him again. John closed his eyes momentarily as he felt Cameron's hair fall down around the sides of his face as she pressed her lips against his. He could feel the world falling away from him, as he sought out Cameron's delicate lips.

It was almost too much to take in at one moment. He felt as though for the first time in his entire life, he was exactly where he was supposed to be, doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Tensing his body slightly John pressed his hands harder up against Cameron's back as the pair continued their embrace, kissing all the while. At this particular moment, time seemed to stand still. There was nothing else in the world to John, except for Cameron.

But then she slowly pulled away from John, who continued to keep his eyes closed. Making her way around the side of his face Cameron whispered softly in his ear,

"John…" she said softly as John caressed her body.

"John…" Cameron said again in a delicate, almost weak voice as John kissed the side of her face as well.

"Why…" Cameron asked, still in her withered tone. At first John did not notice the peculiar utterance. Then as Cameron's lips touched the side of his neck she spoke again,

"John…Why…" She said, almost gasping for breath. John then began to notice something unusual. A certain cold, chilling sensation now pressed up against him. In his earlier contentment he had not immediately noticed this feeling, but it was now becoming more and more prevalent.

"John…" Cameron said again, "Why…" John felt himself becoming more and more confused as time now seemed to be speeding up rapidly, almost to the point where he could not keep pace with it. Cameron was still gently kissing his neck, and pressing her body into his. However, the chilling sensation that he felt was now beginning to take a hold of him and John found that he could not open his eyes.

"Cameron…" John said now, in a very concerned tone. "Cameron….What's wrong?" he asked, the worry in his voice now extremely apparent.

"John…" Cameron said one more time, her voice now shifting over to an emotionless blank tone, as she shifted her body away from him. John's eyes shot open and what he saw stunned him.

"John…" Cameron said, "Why did you do this to me?" she asked. She was still sitting on top of John, straddling him with her legs John looked on in horror. Cameron's expression was lifeless and her eye was dark, almost black. A metallic glint from where her skin was missing from the left side of her face could easily be seen even though the room itself was relatively dark.

"John…" Cameron said again in her emotionless tone as she leaned closer to John preparing to kiss him. "Why?" she whispered one last time as she grew closer to John's mouth.

"CAMERON!" John screamed as his eyes shot open. All of the soldiers inside of the Blackhawk looked over at him with a confused look about their faces. Breathing rapidly John looked around the interior of the helicopter which was only lit by a dull red light.

"Where am I?" John thought quietly to himself as he tried take in his surroundings. The seven man team inside of the passenger compartment of the helicopter continued to stare at him.

"Hey kid…" One of the men sitting across from John said.

"You alright?" He asked. The incessant thudding of the helicopter blades made it more difficult for John to hear exactly what the man had asked. Still disoriented and confused about what was happening on John spoke,

"Where is she?" he asked. The middle aged male solider who had initially spoken with John gave him a puzzled look.

"Where's who kid?" He asked. John opened his mouth to speak, but managed to stop himself before continuing. Glancing back down at the floor of the cabin John slowly responded.

"Nobody…" He said in a sad voice. Slightly raising his eyebrows in a "you're crazy" fashion the gruff soldier sat back in his seat and leaned his head up against the headrest.

John took a long slow breath and then exhaled as he looked out the window of the helicopter as it flew low and slowly through the black night sky. While it was relatively dark outside John was still able to make out the remains of what had once been a large city. Their was an eerier almost ghostly aura about the entire scene. In the distance flashes of light from both debris fire and what John could only assume was plasma fire could be observed. The scenery seemed to drift on for miles before eventually being swallowed up into a void of inky blackness.

Then John saw something in the distance, a small sparkle of light. He felt confused for a brief moment, uncertain exactly what this particular light source might be or why it had drawn his attention. Studying it for another moment John could see that the light was moving and appeared to be getting closer. Still with fatigue and confusion weighing on his mind, John remained unable to ascertain exactly what this light source was. His eyes followed the speck of light across the sky. Wrinkling his brow slightly John found it annoying that he could not piece together the mystery that was this particular object.

Suddenly, jarring John away from the simple confusion of what had initially appeared to be an insignificant puzzle, he heard a screeching alarm come from inside of the cockpit of the helicopter.

"Incoming!" Savannah shouted as John felt the Blackhawk bank violently to one side. His body was thrown into the soldier next to him; however he managed to cling to his place with the support of the safety harness that currently strapped him into his seat.

"Hang on…" The man sitting next to John said as the helicopter rocked back to the opposite side attempting to elude the missile. Looking back out the window of the Blackhawk John realized that he could no longer see the light that had been the incoming missile. That was not good at all. John could easily hear Savannah and Bedell speaking loudly to each other as they too searched the skies for the invading object. Looking out the window John sensed the waiting silence envelop the cab of the helicopter as everyone waited for the next course of events to unfold.

The silence ended. There was a loud explosion and the entire helicopter shuddered and John heard the metal frame of the Blackhawk groan. He was violently thrown to his left side as the fuselage of the helicopter began to spin violently. The entire sequence was a dizzying array of events as John tried frantically to hang onto something as the Blackhawk rapidly fell from the sky.

Craning his neck to look out the window again, John briefly saw the ground rushing towards him and then the stars in the sky as the body of the Blackhawk was spun around.

"Brace for impact!" Bedell shouted from the cockpit of the helicopter. Whipping around one more time John saw what appeared to be a peaceful starry sky followed by the rapidly approaching ground rushing towards the window. A split second later there was a harshly grinding crash.

John felt his body thrown forwards and heard the cracking and tearing sound of metal as the helicopter's metal body crushed in on itself. As he spun back around John's head slammed back against the hard metal body of his seat frame. For a brief moment he saw false stars and then almost instantly felt himself beginning to lose consciousness. Rocking back and forth he was able to ascertain that the helicopter was now rolling across the ground due to the impact. John suspected that he would not be awake long enough to determine the Blackhawk's final destination. The scene blurred and the sounds of the crash drifted away as he slipped into blackness.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

John's head ached, and at first he could see nothing but blackness. The only sensory input seemed to be the incessant ringing in his ears, and what he thought might be distant sounds of shouting, accompanied by echoes of repeated gunfire. He then began to feel other sensations in his body and he realized that his hands were suspended above his head. At first this puzzled him until he began to feel blood trickle "up" his face, soon after which John came to the conclusion that he was actually hanging upside down inside of the wreckage of the Blackhawk. Moving his head around slowly, blurred images began to make their way into his vision. At first he could not actually identify anything in particular; it all seemed to be dark blobs that were loosely grouped together. Gradually he realized that what he had initially regarded as distant shouting and gunfire began to grow louder and more obvious. He struggled to focus on his surroundings and to regain his consciousness.

Blinking several times John's eyes slowly regained focus and he immediately saw the lifeless eyes of a dead soldier staring back at him from across the wreckage of the upside down helicopter. The man appeared to have been impaled by one of the support struts for the tail of the helicopter. The soldier's body hung limp much the way John's body was still hanging. Slowly moving his head around John could make out the crushed and mangled bodies of several more of Martin Bedell's men. The sounds of battle continued to grow ever closer as John's consciousness gradually returned to him. The ringing in his ears was beginning to subside, but not so much that it was no longer noticeable.

John could hear someone calling to him,

"Hey kid…" The voice still seemed to be somewhat distant to John, but upon hearing it he slowly turned his head to the right to ascertain who might be speaking to him.

"Hey kid…" The voice called out again, this time becoming clearer. After a brief moment John was able to locate the individual who was calling for him. Leaning into the wreckage of the helicopter was another solider that John recognized as one of Martin's men. A male in his older twenties he wore relatively dirty military fatigues. Stitched upon the breast of the BDU jacket that he wore was the name D.L. McDonald. However John realized there was no way he could actually be certain if this was the soldier's actual name or if he had just come upon this particular jacket by chance.

"Get your ass out of the chopper!" McDonald yelled as he looked at John. Shaking the confusion from his mind John tried to move but soon realized that he was still harnessed into his seat. Reaching for the release located at his chest John attempted to unlock the clasp, but he soon realized that this was something easier said than done. Twisting and pulling on the release John discovered that the mechanism must have been damaged in the crash. John also noted that the shouting and gunfire was growing closer. He also realized that the sounds of explosions and what appeared to be the creaking of tank treads were growing closer. He also immediately suspected that these were not likely to be the treads of any human tanks. Pulling on the latch a bit harder John continued to struggle to free himself.

"Hang on kid…" McDonald stated as he unsheathed a knife from an ankle holster and leaned into the wreckage of the helicopter. Placing the blade under the shoulder strap located across John's right side McDonald quickly cut the fabric away and John felt his body jerk momentary as his weight shifted down to the strap across his waist. Wasting almost no time McDonald moved his knife down to that particular strap as well and quickly cut through it. Immediately John fell from his suspended position and crashed into what was the ceiling of inverted helicopter.

"Come on lets go!" McDonald shouted as he moved out of the small crumpled entrance that had been the door of the Blackhawk.

John's head now throbbed even more after the impact with the metal surface of the helicopter. Righting himself from his crumpled position he had been in due to his fall John momentarily looked around partially searching for the bodies of either Martin or Savannah. Not seeing either John breathed an all too brief sigh of relief. As he slowly began to crawl out of the wreckage he could hear the sounds of battle as they grew louder and more intense.

Breaking the plane of what had been the helicopter door John saw Martin Bedell, Savannah Weaver and a few other soldiers in front of him. All were crouching behind debris for cover and the purplish flashes of plasma fire streaked over all their heads. John was immediately able to ascertain that this was in fact not an attack by a rival faction as he had experienced before. This time they were in battle against Skynet and its forces.

The Plasma fire was intense as John crawled out from the wreckage of what had once been a Blackhawk Helicopter. Unable to stand due to the incoming rounds, John looked about the area that surrounded him. There was debris and rubble everywhere, both from the helicopter and from what John knew was the remnants of buildings that had been destroyed on Judgment Day. The scene was still dark as it was still currently the middle of the night. The only illumination now came from the moon and stars which periodically broke through the clouds from time to time, and from the onslaught of fire coming from the attacking Skynet army. In front of John and ducked behind some concrete rubble was Martin Bedell, Savannah Weaver and a few other solders who had survived the crash. Each individual took turns coming out from behind the protection of the debris where they were crouched to fire their plasma rifle.

"John, get your ass over here!" Martin shouted as he momentarily leaned out from behind a crumpled concrete pillar and fired his rifle. As John grew closer to the group along the sounds of plasma rifles being discharged and the squeaking of tank treads grew louder. John concluded that this was the sound of an approaching Skynet Hunter Killer.

John carefully made his way the short distance across the battlefield to reach Martin. When he finally managed to do so, he quickly peered over some of the debris so as to see the oncoming Skynet forces. He immediately understood that there was no way Martin and his men could repel or fight back what was approaching them. Along with at least one Ground HK, John could see several more T-888's approaching the group's hopeless position; their silverish endoskeletons gleamed in the faint light as they moved inexorably forward.

Martin and Savannah took turns leaning out from behind cover and firing their plasma rifles at the oncoming Terminators. Their position and the distance to the enemy it made it extremely difficult for them to place any type of accurate shot. However, every so often one of their rounds would manage to find its intended target.  
"You've got to get John out of here." Martin said in a raised voice so as to be heard over the plasma fire as he looked over at Savannah who ducked down behind the concrete debris.

"What?" Savannah responded.

"You've got to get John out of here. We'll cover you as you leave." Savannah looked back over at Bedell with both a confused and concerned look on her face.

"I can't leave you here. We need you…you're too important." Martin momentarily broke from speaking with her to fire several more rounds from his plasma rifle before returning to his original position.

"John is the key to everything." Martin responded. "We have to keep him safe and you of all people know this." Savannah searched her mind for some type of argument to offer, but could find none. Glancing back at the ground she nodded her head in concession to Martin's statement.

Martin moved carefully away from the concrete bolder where he had taken cover to make his way over to John. Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a plasma bolt struck the corner of a fissure in the crumpled concrete wall they were all behind and ricocheted. There was then a loud pop and Martin arched his back and shouted in pain as he fell forwards in front of John.

"Martin!" John yelled as he attempted to reach for Bedell as he impacted with the stony ground.

"Colonel!" Savannah shouted as she too began to make her way over to Bedell and John.

Martin grimaced in discomfort as he rolled over so that he could look up at John who was now kneeling over him.

"John…" Martin groaned as he was helped into the seated position with his back against some debris by both Savannah and John.

"Savannah is going to take you out of here." Martin continued attempting to fight back the pain in his voice.

"Me?" John stated in a confused tone and then asked. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me; I can handle myself, just go with Savannah she'll know where to go from here."

"But I can't just leave you here!" John remarked a growing sense of concern in his voice. Martin grimaced as a shot of pain streaked through his back from his injury. He then reached over and grabbed John by his shirt pulling him closer.

"Listen to me…We don't have anymore time…" Martin stated between labored breaths. "None of this was ever supposed to happen. You were never supposed to be here…not like this. This place…all the people left…the war…it was never supposed to turn out this way." Bedell paused for a brief moment fighting back his pain. "We are losing John…we are going to lose. No one can save us except you." There was another pause on Martin's part to take a breath as his pain grew worse.

"You need to go back…You have to fix all of this. Nothing is as it is supposed to be in this future." John could only to kneel speechless next to Martin not knowing anything that he could say or do.

Martin then turned to Savannah and reached inside of his shirt pulling a metal chain with a titanium key attached to it from behind his body armor. The key itself resembled a handcuff key, except for the fact that it was much larger and had two individual teeth on it as apposed to the single tooth a handcuff key would have. Pulling on the chain it broke free from his neck with a pop. He then handed it over to Savannah,

"Take it…" He said, at which point Savannah nodded and gently removed the key from Martin's hand, as her icy green eyes glistened with tears. Martin moved his body closer to the concrete block which he was now leaning against, he then looked back over at John.

"If you ever see Alison again…" Martin grimaced still struggling to breathe and fight against the pain. "…I want you to give her a message for me." John nodded his head.

"Tell her…" Martin paused, and what John could only describe as a slight smile danced across his face. "Tell her... Me too..." John gave Martin a slightly confused look not quite sure what exactly this particular phrase meant.

"Now go!" Bedell shouted over the sounds of battle.

Still in somewhat of a state of shock John did not initially move until Savannah reached over and grabbed him by the collar pulling him away from Martin who was now slowly attempting to lean out from behind cover to fire his plasma rifle at the oncoming Terminators.

"Come on!" Savannah yelled to John as they moved back towards the wreckage of the Blackhawk.

"Go through the Blackhawk and back out the other side." Savannah ordered as she pushed John ahead and further away from Martin and the few remaining soldiers. Before John began to craw through the doorway of the helicopter, he looked back at Martin one last time, and then led the way through the wreckage with Savannah following after him.

Martin pressed back up against the concrete debris and groaned as the pain in his back grew worse. Skynet forces were nearly on top of them now and there was no escaping the inevitable. Now with only a few men left alive Martin watched proudly as McDonald stood and fired off a few rounds from his plasma rifle before kneeling back down behind cover. He had trained his men well.

"They're almost here sir!" McDonald yelled as he looked over at Martin who nodded his head. No emotion was left on his face as he stoically endured the excruciating pain he was suffering. There was another loud pop as a plasma round struck the soldier kneeling next McDonald. After a slight yelp of pain immediate silence came from the man as he fell to the ground dead. McDonald swallowed and then looked back over at Martin again.

"It's been an honor serving with you sir." He stated a certain solemn tone in his voice.

"The honor has been all mine..." Martin responded. There was a momentary pause while the two men looked at each other. Then both men leaned out from behind the concrete debris and began firing their plasma rifles.

John and Savannah sprinted over the rocky terrain keeping their bodies low to avoid being seen or hit by the random plasma fire. Even though John believed that they had not been directly observed by any of the Skynet forces the incoming fire around them was still relatively intense. Suddenly, John heard a loud explosion from behind him and momentarily turned to see a fireball rising from what would have been Martin Bedell's location.

"Martin…" John stated almost in a state of shock, momentarily standing motionless, stunned.

Stopping in mid stride Savannah spun back around and quickly made her way back to John grabbing him by the shoulder when she reached him.

"Come on!" she shouted, pulling John onwards. The pair took a few more steps before the entire area around them was suddenly illuminated by a spotlight and wind began to whip around them while the deafening roar from the jet engine of a Skynet Aerial HK thundered in the sky.

"Run John!" Savannah yelled as she quickly turned and pointed her plasma rifle towards the HK and began to fire her weapon. John took a few steps away from Savannah and then there was an explosion. John felt his body being flung through the air and was able to note the strange weightless feeling this produced before he came crashing to the ground with a thud.

Coughing and attempting to breathe John struggled to remain conscious as pain raced throughout his entire body.

"Savannah!" He shouted knowing full well that he should actually stay silent in an attempt to avoid further detection. Struggling to get to his feet John began to search the area around him. There was still the deafening sound of the HK, but for the moment no light illuminating John's immediate position.

"Savannah!" John shouted again as he continued to look around.

The sound came from behind John and he spun around to see the burning red eyes of a Terminator. John tried to move, but it was too late. The T-888 quickly grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. John felt the crushing force begin to close around his throat as the Terminator looked into his eyes. Then there was a momentary hesitation on the machine's part as it gazed upon John. It slightly cocked its head to the side almost as if it were studying John. Then it resumed its pressure around John's throat. As his world began to grow dark, John actually managed a slight smirk as he noted that the Terminator's action's had been extremely similar to that of Cameron. Blackness then consumed John's vision.


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Notes: I think this is where I begin to significantly depart from the stereotypical season 3 fan fic. Enjoy!

/././

CHAPTER 10

John's head ached and he felt sensations of both dizziness and nausea. Upon trying and failing he found that for an unknown reason he was unable to open his eyes. But even in darkness he felt as if the room were spinning around him. There was a certain grogginess that seemed to hang over his consciousness as he lay on a cold hard surface. Attempting to move John immediately found that he could not. His hands and legs had been secured to whatever he was currently lying on. The area around him was eerily silent, except for an unusual clicking sound that seemed to wander about in no apparent direction. The air was cool and had a strange odor, one that John could only describe as formaldehyde and something else that he could not immediately identify.

Despite being unable to open his eyes John still tried to ascertain exactly where he was. His final few memories were a jumble. He remembered the helicopter crash, and the ensuing battle, however his recollection of events after that remained to be at least for the moment somewhat fragmented. He again attempted to move, but continued to find that he was securely restrained. The strange clicking and scratching sound began to grow in volume and frequency as the time progressed onward. John felt his heart rate increasing as he lay on the cold metal surface. Then he heard the voice, one which was weak, barely audible, but strangely familiar.

"John…" The voice came from John's right and even though he could not see, John immediately snapped his head over towards the location of the sound.

"John…" The voice spoke out again. Each time John heard the voice it grew more familiar to him. It was feminine, soft, yet unmistakably sinister and disturbing. John took a breath so as to speak, but suddenly found that he could not.

"John…" The voice said a third time. It was at this moment that John recognized the voice, though he knew it was impossible. He felt his heart drop into his stomach and he began to struggle against the restraints that were holding him in place. Pulling and pushing on his arms and legs against the metal, he began to feel his wrists and ankles throb with pain as he struggled.

"John…don't struggle." The voice was still soft and feminine, yet it grew more frightening each time he heard it. John struggled to open his eyes, but continued to find that he was unable to do so.

Suddenly, John felt a soft hand gently touch the bare skin of his ankle. So startled by the touch John instantly thought that if he could move, he would have leaped away from the gentle caress almost as if it had hurt him.

"Don't fight it John…" The voice said as John felt the fingertips of the hand begin to slowly slide up his leg. Struggling more fiercely now John attempted to pull away realizing exactly what it was touching him.

The soft hand gracefully danced up John's outer thigh as it continued on up his body. John tried to speak, but to no avail. The hand moved up past John's hip.

Even closer now, John suddenly heard the voice whisper in his ear.

"John...Why fight them? Why fight us?" The voice now unmistakable produced a sense of terror in John as he felt the soft hand move up his stomach and then continue on over his chest. John's battle endured as he lay on his back, held down by the restraints.

"John…" The hushed female voice said as John felt the delicate touch of the hand begin to move around his throat.

"John…I'm sorry." He felt the hand close around his throat and immediately found that he could not breathe. A hopeless sense of inevitability swept over him as John fought to free himself. Struggling to both breathe and speak at the same time John sensed his consciousness begin to slip away from him again. Realizing his last few seconds were now upon him, John finally ceased his struggle. He relaxed his body back against the metal table and waited for the inevitable.

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John's eyes shot open to a blinding white light above him. Coughing and gasping for breath he finally managed to speak,

"Cameron!" He called out between breaths. Attempting to move John immediately found that he was secured to a cold steel table.  
"Cameron!" John cried out again between his rapid gasps for breath. After a few seconds of terror drifted by, John finally began to feel his heart rate slow and he rested back against the cool steel surface that he was lying on. The examination light above him was nearly blinding and at least for the moment, John found it difficult to make out anything that was around him out.

Blinking and squinting his eyes John's vision slowly came back into focus. Looking around he found that he was inside some sort of examination room. Scattered about the room were several steel tables similar to the one he was on. Some of the examination tables had people who appeared to be either unconscious or dead lying on them, while others were empty. Each table had an examination light fixed over them. The room itself was circular was large glass windows located around it at regular intervals. Several large computer towers were scattered about the room and located next to these were small mobile tables with wheels. Each one contained various medical utensils, none of which actually appeared be clean. The walls of the room were stainless steel and once John saw what was smeared on them, he immediately recognized the unknown smell from earlier, it was blood.

"John…" A voice said from a darkened corner of the room. John quickly snapped his head over in that direction, waiting for whomever it was to emerge from the darkness. He did.

A middle aged male in a beige suit stepped out of the shadows. He was balding, with brownish gray hair, and a matching goatee, John wrinkled his brow slightly upon seeing the man who was now approaching him.

"Hello John…" The man said. John felt his anxiety increasing.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

"I know a great deal about you John…For starters your name…John…Connor." John's eyes grew slightly larger as the male moved up alongside him.

"I'm very glad to meet you Mr. Connor…My name is Charles Fischer."

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Alison felt her legs growing weak as she braced herself against the conference table.

"No…" she whispered quietly as her eyes widened slightly and began to glisten with tears.

"I'm sorry Alison…" Derek replied as he glanced down towards the ground. The make shift command center room was empty, save Alison and Derek and it quickly grew silent as the two stood motionless, neither one quiet sure what to say.

"How…" Alison's voice cracked as she struggled to keep from showing any emotion, "How long?" Derek sighed slightly before responding.

"Long enough to know it's not a delay." He paused and swallowed and then continued, "Long enough…" The room fell still again. The only sound came from the humming of a few laptop fans that were positioned around the room, and an ever so slight sniffling that came from Alison as she struggled to contain her feelings. She could only stare helplessly at the floor as the seconds drifted on. Then suddenly her facial expression changed from one of pain and sorrow to that of fear and anger. She quickly looked up at Derek, a tear now streaking down her cheek.

"It was him…" Alison stated, at first in a weak tone. Derek wrinkled his forehead confused for the moment.

"It was him…" Alison repeated. "John…John Connor." Derek's eyebrows perked up slightly with interest.

"He led them to him." Alison's voice became filled with an urgent hysteria. "He led Skynet to Martin!" Her voice cracked again under the near hysteria she now felt. Derek said nothing for the moment. Alison moved around the table closer to Derek.

"You know it's true…" She replied, "It makes perfect sense…it all does."

"But Martin trusted him…said John could be trusted." Derek argued.

"I know he did…" Alison replied the anxiety in her voice continuing to build. "Maybe Connor got to him, maybe he tricked Martin. Maybe John found out about the…" Alison immediately cut off her next statement, confusing Derek further.

"But Connor was on that helicopter too." Derek stated.

"We don't know that he's dead. Skynet could have rescued him. Hell, Skynet may have just killed him along with Martin." Alison took another step closer to Derek her eyes still filled with tears.

"Martin didn't believe me about Connor…Please…YOU have to…" Derek stood silently in the dimly lit room as Alison stared at him with pleading, tear filled eyes.

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Savannah's body ached and her head throbbed. She found the rocky, debris scattered ground to be incredibly uncomfortable. Her consciousness gradually began to return to her and she found herself lying on her stomach. Forcing her eyes open she saw the burning crimson light of an early morning sun casting its light across the post apocalyptic wasteland that had once been a great city. Savannah slid her hands slowly in front of her and cautiously pushed herself up off the ground, dirt and debris falling from her clothing as she did so. Still shaken from the nearly fatal explosion that had knocked her unconscious, Savannah found that her thoughts were initially hard to come by. Shaking some of the confusion from her mind Savannah slowly looked around the area, examining the landscape that now surrounded her. Then suddenly something came to her.

"John…" She said at first in a whisper. Now quickly whipping her head around as she looked about the area, Savannah's search became slightly more frantic.

"John…" Savannah said in a slightly louder voice. Slowly standing to her feet she began to visually search the vicinity that lay before her, both for signs of life and for possibly threats.

Carefully moving through the rocky terrain, Savannah began to retrace her steps back towards the downed helicopter. Suddenly, she heard a noise and rapidly ducked behind a large concrete boulder for cover. She watched as a Skynet Aerial HK slowly passed by over her head, the loud jet engines blotting out any other sound that could have been heard in the immediate area. Once it had passed Savannah emerged from hiding and eventually resumed her trek back to the helicopter. While she was relatively certain what she would find upon reaching her destination Savannah pushed onward.

Now that she was not racing at a dead sprint fleeing from Skynet, it took slightly longer to reach the helicopter than it had to run from it. After the detonation of the massive Skynet explosive device Savannah could find little evidence of what might be recognizable as remains of a helicopter or human bodies for that matter. Standing at the center of a large crater she slowly panned her eyes over the area around here. Sadly, she found that there was nothing left, and no survivors that could be helped. Savannah momentarily closed her eyes as she struggled to maintain her composure as a torrent of emotions swept over her. Fighting them back she then began to move from her position and make her way south, towards her "home".


	11. Chapter 11

Authors Notes: A few things in reference to this chapter. I believe some people had trouble getting the last chapter notification from fanfiction when I published chapter 10 so I would suggest double checking to make sure you've read it (as this chapter will be highly confusing if you did not read the last chapter).

This will be a shorter chapter, but I felt it best to stop where I did as it will allow for a set up to a substantial plot twist in the next chapter.

Also, for some of you this will be the darkest point of any fan fiction that you have ever read, for others it will not be. However, I can assure both parties that this is only a taste of how increadibly dark this story will actually get.

/././

CHAPTER 11

John blinked his eyes and tightened his brow.

"Who?" He asked in a somewhat confused tone. Charles Fischer raised one of his eyebrows slightly.

"Hhhmm…" He responded, "Thought you might have heard of me, but no matter. We have far more important matters to discuss." At this point John readily understood that Fischer appeared to be working for Skynet. He grew more defensive and angry just by looking at the older man.

"Such as?" John asked in an almost snide tone.

"Well we actually have a great many things we would like to discuss with you. For starters Mr. Connor, how did you get here?" John remained silent for the moment. He continued to pull against the restraint located around his right wrist, as each man waited for the other to speak again.

"How do you know my name?" After John asked this question Fischer slowly walked around the table John was laying on.

"As I said Mr. Connor we know a great deal about you. But for the time being let's stay with the questions at hand. How did you get here?" John thought for a moment. If Skynet and Fischer did indeed know who he was as it appeared they did, then it would be useless to try to deny a fact as large as time travel, since they would already know about this as well. John took a breath and then spoke.

"Isn't it obvious how I got here?" Fischer slowly nodded his head in response.

"I suppose a more accurate question would be WHY are you here Mr. Connor? What circumstances brought you to this place?" John did not answer and Fischer continued circle around him. Fischer then sighed.

"This can proceed so much easier Mr. Connor. I can help you if you'll let me." John raised his eyebrows with disbelief.

"Well you do want to get back to your time don't you?" Fischer asked smugly. He then placed his hands at the foot of the table.

"Maybe I…maybe we can help you with that." John strained silent even though this particular statement did spark his interest to a greater degree.

"Skynet is not evil you know." Fischer said, to which John immediately laughed bitterly in response.

"Oh I assume you know by this point that I am indeed working with Skynet. But, I'm sure that you have never even considered looking at this whole situation from a different perspective." John still did not answer and he watched as Fischer resumed pacing around his table yet again.

"I can help you John." Fischer spoke in a somewhat darker tone as he edged slightly closer.

"That is, if you'll help me." John still did not respond. Fischer shook his head and sighed again.

"So much like your mother." John's eyes widened immediately.

"What do you know about my mother?" He nearly shouted this question. Fischer smiled slightly; it was an eerie almost evil smile.

"We know a great deal about your mother. In fact, I had the honor of meeting her. That is before the unfortunate incident." John felt his heart sink.

"What incident?" He asked his voice growling with a certain rage that was intertwined with the question. Fischer reached up and stroked his goatee.

"Oh my…" he responded in a ghostly tone. "Did they not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" John asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Well Mr. Connor…" Fischer stated in a cold tone, "It really does pain me to tell you this, but your mother was killed quite some time ago…" John felt a lump in his throat forming as he struggled to hide his emotions. Then Fischer produced another eerie smile.

"She was killed by your beloved resistance." John felt horror slipping over him upon hearing this particular statement.

"W-h-a-t?...N-o…" John said, barely able to get the words out of his mouth.

"Yes..." Fischer responded. "Due to your mother's _gallant _actions in her past, she was in prison when Judgment Day occurred. That is how she survived." Fischer paused for a brief moment chuckling.

"It was very similar to how I survived actually. But, through various sequences of events Skynet was able to _acquire_ her."

"What did you do to her?" John snarled. Fischer gave out a quiet laugh.

"We did not do anything to her Mr. Connor. In fact she was treated quiet well." Fischer responded in a silky tone as he again began to slowly walk around the room.

"Due to a certain unique set of circumstances Skynet became readily aware that previous…" Fischer paused for a moment looking as if he were searching for the correct words to use. "…versions of itself had attempted to kill both you and your mother."

"Realizing the potential value that she could have, Skynet ensured that it gained control of her." Fischer continued his meandering around the room.

"I spoke with her several times in fact…" Fischer paused again before speaking, "…purely in an attempt to gather information. I assure you that neither myself nor Skynet harmed her."

"What happened to my mother?" John shouted this time, fury pouring out of his voice. Fischer laughed again.

"You and your mother are so much alike Mr. Connor, it really is intriguing if you think about it. Like I said, we did not do anything to her, but try to protect her that is." John tilted his head to the side slightly waiting for the next statement, the next lie to come.

"Sarah…" Fischer paused briefly. "Do you mind if I call your mother Sarah?" Fischer asked, almost smugly. John did not respond and after a few seconds Fischer continued.

"Sarah was being kept in a secure Skynet facility. One that some of the resistance faction members seemed to deem of extreme importance. One night in a haphazard fashion as is their normal way of doing things, they attacked the facility. Though Skynet attempted to protect your mother and some of the other human occupants of the facility the human resistance decided it would be better to destroy the facility allowing no one to survive, rather than to let the occupants live." John's eyes began to fill with tears.

"You see Mr. Connor, I did not kill your mother…Skynet did not kill your mother." There was a long pause on Fischer's part.

"The resistance killed your mother." John dropped his head back against the metal table letting it impact with a loud thud. He then screamed a blood curtailing scream. John could not see that upon observing his pain Fischer smiled slightly.

"You see Mr. Connor we are not the enemy, they are." John flexed and strained his arms and legs against his restraints in an attempt to free himself as he screamed out in pain yet again.

Charles Fischer allowed a few moments to pass so John could regain some of his composure. He then took a step closer to him.

"That is how we were able to determine exactly who you are." John gave Fischer a curious look.

"You and your mother share similar DNA of course." John closed his eyes still attempting to fight back the raging emotions that were coursing through him. Fischer waited another moment to allow him to think before he stepped quite close to John.

"I'm going to tell you something that I should not be telling you." While John did not respond he was curious as to what Fischer was going to say, even if he suspected that it would be a lie.

Before Fischer spoke he looked around the room as if checking to see if anyone else was in the area. He stooped over John moving his face closer to John's and whispered quietly.

"I don't want any of this…I want to help you." John wrinkled his forehead in a confused expression. Fischer's voice grew quieter as he spoke.

"Skynet has discovered how to time travel." John's eyebrows raised slightly upon hearing this revelation.

"But it is extremely secretive about who has access to the Time Displacement Equipment and even who knows about it." While John remained quiet he felt his interest in this particular subject drawing him in further.

Fischer looked around the room again before he continued to speak.

"We can send you back." He said.

"And maybe even this time you'll be able to stop Judgment Day from happening." John gave Fischer a suspicious glance.

"That is what you want isn't it?" he asked. "All you have to do is help me, help you and this can all be over..." John again laughed bitterly and sarcastically.

"Why would I ever help Skynet?" Fischer's next words sent a chill up John's spine.

"Because when you think about it…nothing that you do here will ever matter." John's mouth opened slightly with surprise upon hearing these words.

"If you are sent back, everything here will be erased. It won't matter what you did or did not do, only that once you have returned to your original time you can change everything." The shock was nearly overwhelming for John. While he never fully understood exactly how time travel worked, Fischer's statements actually seemed to make some sense. Worse yet, John found that a part of him almost "wanted" to take Fischer's advice. It did not appear that he was going to receive any help from either his father or uncle. And now that he believed that both Savannah and Bedell had been killed the likelihood of anyone helping him at all seemed utterly unlikely. But to join forces with Skynet was a prospect almost beyond belief for John. He knew deep down that he would never be able to forgive himself if he actually took that step.

"Where is the base located that you came from?" Fischer asked quietly still leaning in close to John. As Charles waited for the response John could feel the internal conflict within him growing.

"Please John…" Fischer stated in a solemn voice. "Let me help you." There was another pause before he spoke again.

"Just give me a bit of information and then we can move on to far more important things…like how to get you home." John closed his eyes, fighting the emotions that now felt as if they were going to explode out of him.

"Where is the base?" Fischer asked again. John ground his teeth in frustration and then slowly opened his eyes.

"Go to hell…" He said quietly. Fischer jerked away from John.

"That's unfortunate…" Fischer responded. "I suppose I will have to use _other_ means to help you along in this process." He then turned and walked towards an examination table that was located near to him. John heard a few clanks of metal and then saw Fischer turn towards him holding a needle.

Fischer walked slowly across the room towards John who immediately began to struggle upon seeing what was about to occur.

"As I told you Mr. Connor, there is a far easier way to do this." Fischer then pinned John's right arm securely to the metal table and plunged the steel needle into it, injecting the yellowish substance into his body. Fischer then drew back away from John.

"I'll return in a short while…maybe then you'll be more cooperative." Fischer turned and walked away toward one of the exits in the room. Within seconds John began to feel dizzy. The room started to spin and his eyesight blurred. Seconds later, a thick blackness began to creep over John's vision. He fought to stay awake, but knew it was a pointless endeavor. Moments later John drifted away into the oblivion that was unconsciousness.

/././

Authors Notes: In reference to the theory of one timeline or multiple timelines this is going to be a question that I am going to leave up to the reader to determine for himself/herself. This story functions on either plain, but in the end will be one of the key roles in determining how the reader "feels" once the story has run its full course.


	12. Chapter 12

Authors Notes: Well be doing a bit of jumping around in this chapter so hopefully it doesn't get to confusing. There will also be a bit of a plot twist. Enjoy

/././

CHAPTER 12

There did not appear to be a cloud in the sky. The sun was bright, and yet the air around Savannah felt cold. A shiver ran up her spine and she rubbed her forearms with her hands in an attempt to warm herself. Her throat was dry and due to the effects of dehydration she could feel her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. Savannah desperately craved a drink of water, but knew that it was unlikely that she would receive one anytime in the foreseeable future. Dried blood was smeared across her face and her clothes were dirty and torn from last night's ordeal. Her eyes hung heavy with exhaustion, but Savannah forced them to stay open as she carefully moved from one position of cover to other attempting to conceal herself from any Skynet units that might be in the area. Her body throbbed with pain in every way imaginable. She had been walking for what she knew had been miles, and yet there was still a great distance to cover. Savannah hoped that she would reach Bedell's camp before nightfall, but feared that if she did not, she might not survive the night. And despite her aching body, her emotional state felt worse than her physical condition. Martin Bedell, probably the most important resistance leader in the world was dead, and while she had not found his body, Savannah assumed that John Connor had also met with the same fate…or possibly worse. Every step she took grew more taxing and Savannah found that her ever increasing fatigue made the extra effort of concealing herself seem less and less important.

There was a crushing loneliness that had befallen Savannah as she stumbled through the rocky terrain. The loss she felt due to Bedell's death was so much more than one of just losing a leader; Martin had been a friend, perhaps even her best friend. And then there was John. His obvious possible tactical significance aside, there was something else there that Savannah could not quite place, something that she had never felt before. Just as Savannah was trying to determine exactly what it was that she was experiencing her foot struck a rock that was lodged in the ground below her. She fell forwards throwing her hands out in front of her body in a futile effort to catch herself. Her palms struck the debris covered ground and she instantly felt a sharp pain shoot up her left hand. On all fours Savannah's head hung low and her now dirty red hair cascaded across her face.

Slowly raising her left hand Savannah saw thick crimson blood oozing from the gash that had been inflicted by whatever sharp object she had landed on. Too weary to even curse herself for making such a careless mistake she mustered enough energy to stand. As she continued onward she fought the urge to collapse and surrender to her exhaustion. Savannah had to make it back, if for nothing else, to deliver what Martin had given her.

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John's consciousness slowly returned to him. He took a deep breath and felt cool air rush into his lungs. Still groggy and tired, he slowly opened his eyes. His vision remained impaired. The room where he was confined appeared blurry and he could not make out any specific images beyond the fact that a blinding white light surrounded him. Finding that he was still unable to move, John looked around for anything familiar that might give him a clue as to what exactly had happened after he had passed out. However, he discovered that his vision stubbornly remained out of focus. Then suddenly he heard it, a tantalizing and extremely familiar voice came out of the white light.

"John…" The voice lacked a specific emotional tone, but John instantly found that it had a comforting effect on him. He slowly moved his eyes over to the direction of the sound.

"John…" The sound grew somewhat closer and John felt an irresistible sense of excitement come over him as the voice grew more recognizable.

"John…" The third time John heard his name spoken he responded.

"C-a-m-e-r-o-n…" He said slowly and with some apprehension.

Cameron gradually emerged from the blinding white light that surrounded John in an almost angelic fashion. John blinked his eyes still trying to focus, but found that she was the only thing that he could see with any clarity.

"Cameron…" he said again, the excitement and surprise in his voice grew.

"Hello John…" Cameron responded, the pitch of her voice changing slightly. If John hadn't known any better he would have sworn it sounded like affection hidden behind her flat tone. There was a momentary still as the pair stared quietly at each other before Cameron broke the silence again.

"What are you doing here John?" She asked. John hesitated for a brief moment again looking around the brightly lit room. He was still unable to make out anything specific, except for Cameron.

"John…" Cameron said again, "Why are you here?" John looked into Cameron's eyes finding that he was growing slightly nervous about his response, although he was unsure as to why he felt this way. Cameron slowly tilted her head to one side, coyly waiting for his answer.

"I…I came here for…" John hesitated momentarily, "I came to get you." John finally stated, his voice growing somewhat quiet. Cameron paused, looking at John briefly.

"What am I doing here?" She finally asked. John blinked his eyes somewhat confused by the question.

"After you gave your chip to John Henry, he jumped into this future. Catherine Weaver and I followed you two here."

"Catherine Weaver is here?" Cameron asked directly.

"Yes…" John responded, "She turned out to be a Terminator as well…A liquid metal one." John stated flatly.

"That's interesting." Cameron responded.

"I thought she might have been trying to help us, she said she was building something to stop Skynet."

"John Henry?" Cameron asked.

"I think so yes."

"Did anyone else come with you?"

"No…" John stated. "Just Catherine Weaver."

"How did you plan on getting back?" John remained silent for the moment, searching for an answer, but not finding none.

"I don't know." John finally said in a more solemn tone. "I guess I assumed Catherine Weaver would have some sort of plan for that." Cameron nodded her head.

"Has anyone been helping you?" Cameron asked.

"Not much, Derek and his faction don't trust me. I thought you might have been posing as Alison Young for awhile, but I found out pretty quickly that she wasn't you. Martin Bedell and Savannah Weaver have helped but…" John's voice trailed off. Cameron took a half step closer to John, gently placing her soft hand on his lower arm. As had occurred nearly every other time she had touched him in this manner, John found that he was disoriented, unsettled, confused, yet unmistakably calmed. After looking down at his right arm where she was now touching him, John slowly lift his eyes up and met Cameron's brown eyed gaze.

"What happened to them?" Cameron asked, her voice growing softer. John sighed.

"They were killed…" John responded solemnly, "Skynet killed them." John looked down at the foot of the table where he was laying and remained silent for a brief period. Then he looked back up at Cameron.

"How did you get here, I thought they destroyed your chip?" He asked softly. Cameron again tilted her head to one side and this time offered a small smile.

"I will always find you John." John could not help but smile in response. Cameron then slowly stepped back away from John easing her way back toward the blinding white light.

"Cameron…" John said trying to reach out to her but finding that he was unable to do so. As she moved away from him she was slowly enveloped into the surrounding white light. And then she at last disappeared leaving John alone again.

"Cameron, come back…" he said again in a quiet pleading voice hoping that she would again emerge from the light. Several seconds of silence passed before John dropped his head back onto the metal table. As he stared up at the blinding light that was above him, a tear slowly rolled down the left side of his face.

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Charles Fischer moved further away from the examination table where John was restrained and walked toward one of the room's exits. John continued to lie motionless in his drugged stupor on the cold steel table gazing up at the light that was situated above him. Fischer smiled, a truly evil smile and shook his head.

"All too easy…" he said as he turned and left the interrogation room.

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Savannah had been walking for hours, she wearily looked up at the now slowly setting sun as she made her way towards the remains of a large concrete building. Scattered among other buildings of similar nature this particular one did little to stand out, yet Savannah pushed herself towards it. She forced herself to walk slightly faster, as she heard the drone of a Skynet Aerial HK rapidly approaching her position. Her legs ached and she wobbled from the dizziness caused by the concussion that she had suffered. Savannah momentarily braced herself against a large concrete block. Upon moving away she left a smear of blood from the wound on her palm, which stubbornly continued to bleed. Exhaustion, dehydration, and loss of blood had nearly overwhelmed her. To her dismay she found that she was having trouble focusing her thoughts.

Moving ever closer to what appeared to be a burnt out, abandoned building Savannah stumbled again and this time she collapsed. Striking the ground with a thud the wind was instantly knocked out of her. She coughed and gasped for breath as she lay on the dirt covered ground. In the distance she could hear the HK approaching. Pulling herself onto all fours Savannah began to crawl towards the building which was now only about forty feet away.

She began to come to the bitter conclusion that she would never actually reach her intended destination even though it was so tauntingly close. Moments later, she at last succumbed to her fatigue and fell over onto her side. Straining to keep her eyes open, Savannah tried to muster enough energy to move again, but soon realized that she had none left. The Skynet Aerial HK was closer now, and worse yet she now heard movement around her. Hearing the dirt crunch as something or someone moved next to her body Savannah gradually turned her head to look up, lacking even the energy to move her tangled hair out of her face. She was sure that she would see a Triple 8 or some other Skynet creature poised over her.

Before she was able to focus upon what was positioned above her Savannah was surprised to feel something soft touch her face. It was a human hand, a male's hand to be more specific. His gentle brushing of her hair out of Savannah's face and eyes let her see a white male with short dirty blond hair in his early thirties kneeling down over her. She managed to find the energy to look up into his light green eyes,

"Pyle…" She whispered in an extremely weak voice.

"I got you girl." Kevin Pyle stated in a mellow tone as he shouldered his plasma rifle over his black BDU jacket. Putting Savannah's right arm over his shoulder Kevin helped bring her to her feet. Savannah moaned in pain as he pulled her up.

"Let's get you home..." Kevin said after standing and then moved the pair quickly over to the concrete building that Savannah had initially been trying to reach. A few seconds later they disappeared inside just as the Aerial HK flew overhead.

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John's eyes slowly opened and he again saw the bright glow of the examination light positioned above him. Slowly blinking his eyes he found that his surroundings had now come back into focus. He soon realized that he was still in the same interrogation room that he had been first confined to. Somewhat startled by his seeming lack of recollection of recent events, John looked around for a brief moment trying to decide exactly what had occurred. His consciousness had come and gone so many times during the past few hours he was very unsure of what had actually happened. He could see the other humans positioned on the tables around him, all were lying motionless and John could not tell if any of them were alive or dead. Attempting to move his left arm John found that he was still firmly secured to the table. Becoming more and more alarmed he struggled with an increased intensity against his restraints.

Suddenly, John heard a clank and saw the metal door to the room slowly swing open, the hinges groaning somewhat as it did so. Moments later Charles Fischer emerged through the doorway flanked by two T-888's. Their silver looking endoskeletons gleamed in the brightly lit room and their burning red eyes stared at John. Fischer slowly made his way over to the examination table.

"Hello Mr. Connor, how are you feeling?" John glared in contempt and said nothing.

"Hhhmm…" Fischer remarked as he looked over John's body, and briefly positioned his fingers around John's wrist to feel his pulse.

"Your heart rate has come down…That is good." He stated flatly. Another moment of silence passed before Fischer spoke again.

"Have you given any more thought to my proposal?" he asked. John looked away still not responding. Fischer nodded his head.

"Okay, we'll do it the hard way then…" Fischer mumbled under his breath so that John could not quite make out what he had said.

"You know we really can help you Mr. Connor. It would be so much easier if you would let us."

"There's nothing you can do that could help me." John shot back angrily at which point Fischer immediately renewed his evil grin as he stared down at him. A few seconds of eerie quiet drifted by before Fischer leaned in towards John.

"I CAN help you John…" He said quietly and in a cryptic voice. Fischer's casual use of John's first name actually added to the foreboding atmosphere.

"I CAN bring back Cameron." John's eyes widened in shock. Until this moment he had no idea that Fischer knew about Cameron.

"How…" John stuttered, "How do you know about Cameron." Fischer's deathly smile remained across his face.

"You told us John…You told us...about everything." John's mouth nearly dropped open due to the horror that was now beginning to overpower him.

"No…" He whispered.

"Yes John…you told us everything." Fischer reconfirmed John's worst fear as he continued. "About your trip through time, John Henry, Catherine Weaver, and of course the distressing story about Cameron." There was a certain smugness in Fischer's voice as he spoke. John swallowed, his mind was blank, and he could only sense the dread that was now sweeping over him.

"You told us how Cameron sacrificed herself for you, and for John Henry. You also told us about Alison Young." Fischer paused momentarily to take a slow breath. "Like I said John, you told us everything." Tears began to fill John's eyes as he fought to keep from screaming. Fischer waited another moment allowing the full weight of the situation to crash down upon John. He then leaned in a bit closer to John.

"There's no point in fighting it now John. You may as well join us."

"NO!" John screamed as he jerked against his restraints. "I'll kill you!" He shouted with utter rage in his voice and then let out a blood curtailing scream. At which point Fischer laughed maniacally in response.

Several seconds went by after John's furious outburst during which time he cursed and swore at Fischer. Eventually out of sheer exhaustion he rested his head back against the table breathing heavily still trying to fight back his tears.

"There is no need to be so dramatic John…" Fischer stated as he again leaned in closer. "I can still help you." He whispered. "We can bring Cameron back to you. That is what you want isn't it?" Still struggling to maintain his composure John said nothing. Fischer gradually moved back away from the table.

"I'll let you think about it." He said as he turned and moved towards the door, after taking a few steps away he paused momentarily and turned back around.

"We're your only option John. Cameron's body would have been destroyed by the time displacement when you came here. Her chip is gone, her body is gone; Skynet IS your only chance to get her back." Fischer turned away from John and moved out of the room, followed closely by the two Terminators that had escorted him in. Once he left the room the grief and humiliation immediately overcame John and he began to sob.

/././

Authors Notes: I hope everyone remembers Pyle from the episode, "Goodbye To All That". Specifically, he was the recruit that Derek went off on for asking how many confirmed kills he had. Just as a side note Pyle will not be the only "minor" cast member returning in this Fan fic.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

The room was extremely cold and the combination of the high intensity lighting and the polished stainless steel walls made the illumination nearly blinding. The large chamber was virtually empty, save for a massive screen built into the wall at the front section of the room. Displayed on the screen was a black background with unrecognizable images that quickly flashed across it. A random mathematical formula would also form on the display every so often.

Charles Fischer slowly exhaled. He noticed that the air around him was so cold that he was actually able to see his breath. He walked forward until he reached the center of the room. He then stopped and waited silently staring at the large screen in front of him. Except for the quiet drone of air conditioning fans the room was eerily silent. Fischer took another breath and waited.

"SPEAK…" A deep, booming voice suddenly burst forth from all around him, momentarily startling Fischer. He hesitated for a brief second, swallowing before he spoke.

"Your plan is proceeding well. John Connor's resolve appears to be weakening." There was silence once again as an image of John Connor was produced on the display in front of Fischer. Once again the voice emerged.

"HOW LONG?" it asked.

"Not long..." Fischer responded, "…his attachment to the cyborg seems to be…" Fischer paused momentarily, searching for the correct word to say, "…extreme. It is his greatest weakness." Fischer then thought briefly before continuing,

"I believe he will make a considerable amount of sacrifices in order to be with it again." The response was almost instant.

"FOOLISH…" The voice echoed as different images of Terminator endoskeletons and what appeared to be their blueprints began to flash across the screen.

"I agree…" Fischer added, "…but I believe we can use this to control him, to channel his anger towards those who he believes have taken it from him." The room fell still once again as Fischer paused to take a breath,

"Ultimately…his feelings for it will be his undoing…"

"AGREED…" The dark and ominous voice stated in response as one particular image of an endoskeleton's schematic suddenly burst onto the screen. Fischer studied the image of the small framed Terminator which was now being displayed before him.

"PROCEED WITH THE PLAN…" The voice ordered and Fischer nodded his head in response,

"As you wish…"

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The bright dot from the penlight momentarily shown in Savannah Weaver's right eye and then was quickly moved away by the individual who was holding it. A brief second later it flashed back in Savannah's eye and her pupil constricted slightly, displaying more of her icy green cornea.

"Yeah, you've definitely got a concussion." Lauren Fields said as she slid her penlight back into her shirt's breast pocket. Savannah nodded her head in response as she sat patiently inside of the makeshift medical bay. In actuality it was just an oversized office room with a few tables. Several cabinets filled with medical supplies were spread around the room that had once been the office of an emergency communications supervisor. Martin Bedell's base of operations was located inside of what had once been a Sheriff's Department headquarters. The underground network of tunnels that ran from the jail, to the court house, and along to several other government buildings before working their way back to the Sheriff's Office made it the perfect location for a resistance faction's base.

"You can get dressed now." Lauren stated as she moved over to one of the empty tables and began to jot down a few notes onto the paper inside the folder lying on the table. Savannah gracefully slid off the table. The movement of her body caused the cold steel key and chain that she wore around her neck to rub against the bare skin of her chest. It sent a small shiver up Savannah's spine. She retrieved her pants, shirt, and jacket from a nearby chair and began to dress.

"Captain Livie asked to see you once we were done." Lauren spoke as she picked up her folder and the paperwork that she had just completed. Savannah nodded her head and pulled her shirt on over her head.

"You can send him in." Savannah stated flatly. Lauren hesitated for a moment after Savannah spoke. She then flicked the bangs of her short brown hair out of her eyes,

"I'm glad you made it back Savannah. We were all worried about you." Savannah responded with a half hearted smile, more for Lauren's benefit than for her own.

"Thanks…" she replied, "…just wish I could have brought him back with me." Lauren turned her green eyes towards the ground.

"I know…" She responded, "If you need to talk about it, I'm here." Savannah again nodded her head. She gave Lauren another false smile before Lauren turned away and walked out of the room.

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There was a light knocking at the door and a few seconds later it opened.

"Ms. Weaver?" The voice of a male could be heard, as an individual in his mid 30's, with brown hair, and brown eyes, wearing digital desert camouflage fatigues stepped into the room. Captain's bars were clearly visible on the man's collar.

Savannah finished buttoning up her pants and turned to face him.

"Captain Livie…" She stated

"It's good to see you again Ms. Weaver." Livie said as he took a few steps further into the room.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. While there was a certain emotional detachment to Livie's tone, he was still being sincere. Savannah did not look him directly in the eyes when she spoke.

"I've been better."

"That's understandable." He responded. An awkward silence then momentarily fell across the room before it was broken by Livie.

"Sergeant Pyle informed me that you still have it?" Savannah nodded her head as she instinctively reached towards her chest. She clutched the key in her hand when she found it under her shirt.

"I do…" Savannah responded, her voice growing colder as she continued, "…Colonel Bedell gave it to me just before he was killed." As Savannah spoke, she felt herself becoming more and more disconnected from her emotions. It was a defense mechanism that she had adopted many years ago; soon after the death of Mr. Ellison, but not before her encounter with Danny Dyson.

"It's good that you were able to recover it." Livie said, "Bedell's death…it's very…" Livie Sighed a long heavy sigh,

"…unfortunate…"

"Indeed…" Savannah responded as Livie shifted his body weight from one side to the other and then spoke again,

"You should get cleaned up and get something to eat, there'll be a briefing in the conference room in about thirty minutes…Bring it with you and meet us there." Savannah nodded her head and another moment of uncomfortable silence passed before Livie turned and walked out of the room.

Once Livie was gone Savannah leaned back against the table that was behind her. She took a slow deep breath and then exhaled. Her eyes quickly flicked around the room as she renewed her effort to bury her emotions. She had witnessed the death of many people before. Some were close friends, others were comrades, and some were just mere acquaintances, but this situation felt significantly different. Savannah was unsure if what she was experiencing was because of Martin or John, or both, but the sensation was extremely unsettling for her. It was something she had not felt in a long while, and Savannah had come to learn that she disliked feeling that went beyond superficial emotions. She now believed that anything stronger than casual feelings or experiences was too dangerous to allow herself to experience in the world where she now lived. She ground her teeth slightly and took another breath. As she had done so many other times in her life she forced her emotions back inside. Like so many other times in her life she had survived, she had been the only one to survive, yet again.

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John lay motionless on the cold steel table. He stared blankly up at the bright examination light above him. He now felt almost numb. Taking slow even breaths his vision went in and out of focus, but no thoughts came to his mind. There was just an overwhelming "nothingness" that now seemed to be overpowering him. He was so disconnected that he did not immediately notice the sound of the entrance door as it opened.

Lying on the steel table John suddenly observed movement out of the corner of his right eye. However, he did not even bother to investigate who or what it was. There was silence yet again before a voice broke the stillness.

"It is good to see you again, Mr. Connor." Recognizing the voice as Fischer's John did not respond, he continued to stare at the light. There was another brief pause before he heard the voice again.

"Mr. Connor…" John still did not respond. He merely took another breath and exhaled slowly. Then, the voice spoke again and this time John's attention was captured.

"Mr. Connor…" There was an unmistakably Scottish accent behind the tone this time around. John's eyes immediately flicked over to his right, followed quickly by his head. His jaw nearly fell open with shock. Stuttering somewhat John managed to speak,

"Ca….Catherine Weaver?"

Catherine Weaver stood elegantly before John. Her bright red hair was pulled back into a perfectly formed pony tail. She wore, or rather had created a bright white business dress which fit snuggly around her body.

"How...How did you get here?" John asked confusion evident in his voice.

"It is a bit of a long story Mr. Connor and we do not have the time to discuss it here." Catherine stated as she began to remove the shackles fastened around John's hands.

"We do not have much time at all. We must hurry" She added as she removed John's leg restraints.

Once free John quickly moved off of the interrogation table,

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice somewhat muffled.

"I will explain _later_ Mr. Connor. For the time being we must leave." Looking around the room John immediately observed the other people lying motionless on the tables. He quickly moved over to each one of their bodies checking to see if they were alive.

Displaying what could only be described as annoyance, even though John believed she was incapable of emotions, Catherine spoke again.

"Mr. Connor…"  
"I'm not leaving them…" John said with urgency in his voice as he moved past the dead body of a young female.

"Mr. Connor…" John moved over to the table of a young male clothed only in an examination gown who could not have been older than 18. As he touched his hand to the boy's throat to check for a pulse, the male's eyes immediately shot open.

"Get away from me!" The boy yelled as he began to struggle against his shackles.

"Keep your voice down…" John stated in a hushed voice as he removed the restraints from the boy's legs,

"I'm here to help you…" Staring at John in terror the boy watched as John freed first his left hand and then his right.

The moment the boy was free he pushed John away from him,

"I said stay away!" The fear in the young male's voice was unmistakably present and he moved himself around the table in an attempt to escape from John.  
"I told you I'm trying to help." John said, the concern in his voice growing.

"Mr. Connor, I can not emphasize enough how we DO NOT have the time for this." Catherine stated, an obviously emulation of anger in the tone of her voice.

"You're working with them." The boy said as he made his way over towards the exit door.

"No wait!" John said as the boy suddenly sprinted towards the exit and then out of it. John immediately moved after him, but he was abruptly intercepted by Catherine who grabbed him by the arm, stopping him from proceeding any further.

"Mr. Connor, there is absolutely no time for this. We must leave immediately." It was readily apparent that Catherine was not about to let John pursue the freed fugitive any further.

"He will serve as a sufficient distraction for us." Catherine then stated in a cold and callous tone, bringing a certain look of disgust to John's face in response.

"I have acquired clothing for you; it is located outside of this establishment, but we must go, now." Catherine moved through the doorway and in the opposite direction that the boy had run in. John turned and looked back into the interrogation room, at the bodies of the people lying on the tables. He felt a sense of remorse as he gazed upon them one last time before moving quickly through the doorway, following Catherine Weaver.

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"We should kill him…" Fischer turned his head over to his left at the sound of the malevolent voice. Sidling up to him was an imposing black male. At least 6'2 and with a muscular build, the man wore black and white urban camouflage fatigues.

"Skynet wants him alive." Fischer responded. The black male snorted in annoyance.

"Why kill your enemy, when you can corrupt him from within?" Fischer added in an arrogant tone. "Skynet has determined that all of the attempts by its predecessors to kill John Connor were an inefficient use of its resources, especially given the recent turn of events." The black man continued to stare at Fischer as they moved onwards down the brightly lit metal hallway.

"But, if we can turn him, imagine the possibilities."

"And if we can't convince him to join us?" Fischer chuckled slightly at the question.

"Oh he will…After all, we are the only ones that can give him what he truly wants."

"And how are we going to give that to him?" The black male callously asked. Fischer gave the man a wicked smile.

"You just leave that to me." Both men continued their trek down the winding hallways towards one of the interrogation rooms.

/././

Authors Notes: I hope everyone remembers Lauren Fields from "Alpine Fields" and Livie who was actually another recruit that was mixed in with Bedell's squad at Presidio Alto from the episode "Goodbye To All That" (The camera briefly panned across him after Derek reamed out Pyle).


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Catherine Weaver and John had been walking for at least two hours. After quickly dispensing with several Terminators, Catherine had led John out of the basement of what appeared to be a dilapidated mansion, albeit an eerily familiar one. John assumed that the ease of their escape had been due to Catherine's ability to circumnavigate several of Skynet's security systems. Otherwise he suspected that there would have been a far more furious battle to get away. After retrieving some clothes for him, which were still inadequate for the weather conditions, but far better than the examination gown he had been wearing; Catherine had instructed John to follow her. She had also transformed her outer clothing into black BDU pants, a tight long sleeve turtle neck and black boots, a much more fitting outfit for what was likely to come as they embarked on their journey. However, since then she had barely said a word to him.

John's head and legs ached. The fatigue from the experiences of the last few days as well as the lack of food and rest had begun to take its toll. The cold air, which blew incessantly, chilled him to the bone. He looked despairingly around the debris strewn, post apocalyptic landscape and saw in the wreckage the ruins of what had once been a massive city. The slowly setting crimson sun added to the ghostly surreal scene. Becoming more aggravated with each passing moment by Catherine's seemingly effortless trudge through the landscape, and by her frustrating silence, John had finally had enough.

"Okay, hold on…" John stated in an exasperated tone. Catherine quickly turned and looked at him, an almost "annoyed' look on her face.

"Yes Mr. Connor?" She asked. John leaned back against a large concrete pillar that had once supported a highway overpass.

"We've been walking for over two hours and you haven't said a word." Catherine raised her eyebrows, almost as if confused.

"Yes?" she responded flatly. "Two hours, twenty three minutes, and forty seven seconds to be exact." Growing more agitated John spoke again.

"It'd be nice to have some answers."

"Exactly what answers were you expecting Mr. Connor?" she asked, again with very little apparent emotion in her tone as she scanned the skyline for any possible threats. John was uncertain whether she was attempting to give him some sort of backhandedly dismissive response, or if she was asking a genuine question.

"Well for starters, where the fuck have you been?" John's voice rose as anger crept into his tone. He then continued,

"Do you have any idea what I've been through?" Catherine tilted her head to the side appearing to be slightly inquisitive. John hesitated for another moment and then dropped his head in what could only be described as an admission of defeat.

"Ca…Cameron is gone. John Henry is gone." John's struggle to speak grew harder as he continued, "My mother is dead, the resistance thinks I'm some sort of traitor to humanity and…" John took a deep breath attempting to fight back his tears.

"…in light of recent events…" John hesitated again, "…I think I might just be one."

"I see…" Catherine responded her voice devoid of any compassion. John felt his rage begin to boil over.

"You see?" He shot back, "You see!" He took a few steps towards Catherine. "I wanna know what the hell is going on around here!" John voice grew more exasperated as he continued. "You disappear about a minute after we get here not to be heard from until now. I don't know what the hell is going on with the resistance and these divided factions in this timeline, and Cameron is GONE!".

"Keep your voice down Mr. Connor." Catherine snapped back as she again looked around the shattered terrain.

"I assure you that except for a few deviations, I believe that this has all been part of John Henry's plan."

"Part of his plan?" John answered with anger still in his voice. "Was it his plan to come here and get himself destroyed…TO GET CAMERON KILLED!" His voice rose again at which point Catherine raised her hand in a "calm down" gesture before giving him a strange look of reassurance.

"What makes you believe John Henry has been destroyed?" Catherine asked in an superior tone. John shook his head with dismay.

"Because I saw his body…I saw his body being burned. His…" John balked, "…Cameron's chip was destroyed." Catherine responded with what John could only describe as a smug smile.

"You saw John Henry's chip destroyed?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"Yes…" he shot back, and then thought for a brief moment instantly realizing something. "Well…they said they destroyed the chip." Catherine took another step closer to John and spoke much more seriously.

"Do you honestly believe I would let anything happen to John Henry, Mr. Connor?" John wrinkled his brow, somewhat confused. Catherine slowly reached into her pants pocket and retrieved something. After doing so she held the object out in her hand for John to see. John nearly collapsed. He felt the strength drain out of his legs and his heart jumped into his throat.

"Is that…" His words were barely audible, "Is that her…"

"Yes Mr. Connor." Catherine responded. "This is John Henry's chip." John swallowed, still nearly overcome with emotion. A slight smile danced across his face as he experienced the greatest amount of hope he had felt since arriving in this dark arena.

"She's still alive." John whispered.

"Yes Mr. Connor…" Catherine stated and then turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" John called out as he ran after Catherine.

"How did you get it?" he asked as he moved up alongside of her. Catherine looked over at John,

"I am a shape shifter Mr. Connor." she replied the haughty tone again returning to her voice.

"After our arrival and John Henry's subsequent capture I merely led the resistance to believe that I had destroyed John Henry's chip." She hesitated momentarily before speaking again.

"It really was a very simple plan Mr. Connor." Slightly put off, but ignoring his initial reaction John responded,

"So where have you been? Why didn't you come get me sooner?"

"To be honest Mr. Connor, I had much more pressing matters to attend to."

"Such as?" John questioned.

"Well, first and foremost I had to formulate a plan to reactivate John Henry." John looked curiously at Catherine.

"How are you going to do that?" he asked.

"There is a Terminator construction establishment not far by vehicle from here. I have formulated a means of entry to that facility and I will covertly build John Henry a new body and reactivate him." Catherine paused almost as if thinking before she continued.

"If it had not been for your recent capture I would have been able to accomplish this task much sooner." John frowned ignoring her last statement which seemed to blame him for getting captured. Instead he focused on what he believed to be the more important question.

"What about Cameron?" He asked his voice now lacking its strength. Catherine looked over at him and raised her eyebrows in a surprisingly disconcerted manner.

"What about her?" she responded.

"How do we get her back?" There was a brief moment of silence before Catherine answered,

"We don't…" she said in a cold, heartless tone as she turned away from John. Grabbing Catherine by the shoulder John nearly shouted,

"What?" Catherine jerked her head back around to look at John almost as if she were angry. She then quickly pulled away from him.

"Keep your voice down Mr. Connor." John felt his renewed anger growing.

"What do you mean we don't get her back?" he growled.

"John Henry has taken over your friend's chip. While she is still there, he is now the primary and most important program. While it would in theory be possible to separate the two of them, it would be difficult to do, and dangerous for John Henry."

"I don't care…" John immediately responded. Catherine shook her head in what could only be characterized as a clear expression of annoyance on her part.

"She gave John Henry her chip for this very purpose. I am sure she understood the very real chance that she might never again return."

"What will happen to Cameron after you reactivate John Henry?" John asked.

"I am uncertain." Catherine stated a flat expressionless voice. "I presume she would continue to run in the background; however, there have never been two profiles of this nature put onto the same chip before. It is quite possible that she will be permanently damaged or erased."

"Give me her chip." John immediately stated his voice bristling with anger. Catherine ignored him as she turned and began to walk away, leaving him speechless. John stood silently for several seconds watching Catherine walk further and further away, until he sensed his rage beginning to take hold. It finally became an all consuming fire that he could no longer control. And then he sprinted furiously after Catherine.

"Give me her chip!" he shouted as he ran.

In a flash Catherine spun around to meet John. Seizing him by the throat she stopped him dead in his tracks. She then lifted him slowly and deliberately off of the ground.  
"Mr. Connor...this obsession with your little metal friend is growing tiresome." John gagged and gasped for breath as Catherine continued to suspend him in the air by his throat.

"We have a mission to complete, the number one goal of which is reactivating John Henry." Catherine paused glaring into John's eyes with her own cold lifeless green eyes. She then released him and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap gasping for breath.

"It is after all why you and your friend sent me back." She stated in a hostile tone.

"What?" John asked as he coughed. Catherine momentarily gave him a uncertain look, appearing to debate whether or not she should reveal the next bit of information to him. Eventually she spoke,

"You and your friend sent me back Mr. Connor. You sent me back to build John Henry, in order to stop Skynet." Still trying to catch his breath John spoke again in a somewhat labored tone.

"My friend?" he asked, "Who, Cameron?"

"No Mr. Connor." Catherine responded smugly. "Your friend Savannah Weaver. And unlike you, it appears that she was willing to sacrifice the ones she cared about for the greater good." John slowly stood, still in utter confusion.

"Sacrifice the ones she cared about?" he asked. "What are you talking about?" Once again Catherine appeared to be "annoyed" with his question.

"Honestly Mr. Connor, I thought you would have put it together by now. Savannah understood that it would be necessary to sacrifice her parents in order to build John Henry." John's jaw nearly dropped open upon hearing this revelation.

"We…we sent you back to kill her parents?" he asked the disgust flooding into his voice.

"Not specifically to kill her parents Mr. Connor. You sent me back to build John Henry. However it was necessary to terminate her parents in order to do so." John felt the horror slipping over him.

"John Henry is the best chance that humanity has for stopping Skynet." Catherine stated. "I thought you would have understood that by now." John stood silently still in shock unable to say anything.

"I sent you back?" John repeated.

"Yes, you did Mr. Connor, we've already gone over this." They remained quiet for another second each waiting for the other to speak.

"But what about Cameron?" John asked in a weak tone.

"Cameron…" Catherine stated flatly, "…is no longer a priority."

"She is to me!" John shot back in a harsher voice.

"Reactivating John Henry is my mission Mr. Connor and I plan to carry that out, with or without your help. There is an operational vehicle not fare from here. You can either assist me or choose to do nothing. Either way, I am going to reactivate John Henry." Catherine Weaver looked at John with an almost clinical detachment before she turned and walked away, leaving him standing alone amongst the debris.


	15. Chapter 15

Authors Notes: I'll caution some of my more "emotional" readers that this chapter will probably be one of the most shocking you will ever read (as far as TSCC is concerned).

CHAPTER 15

The old Ford F-150 bounced along the remnants of what had once been a roadway, although it could hardly be called one now. Potholes, debris, human remains, and a plethora of other objects were scattered along the trail. The hushed sound of air rushing past the cracked driver's side window could be heard as he drove onward. The cabin of the truck was dark, John had not even turned the headlights on so as to better conceal his movements. In the far distance he could see spotlights of what he knew could only be Skynet HK's along with random explosions that sporadically erupted from place to place.

The truck jolted to one side as it struck a small crater in the expressway. Still suffering from extreme fatigue due to recent events John widened his eyes attempting to better see the path in front of him. He fought the urge to momentarily stop the vehicle and give himself a short break. After his separation from Catherine Weaver and what he now assumed was Savannah Weaver's death, John knew of only one place to go.

After his conversation with Catherine, he had concluded that due to the secretive nature in which John Henry's body was being constructed it would take Catherine quite some time to actually complete her work. Perhaps it would be enough time for him to stop her and in turn save Cameron. While John did not have a specific plan of action in mind on how to accomplish this, he knew that he had to do something. He could not; he would not allow Cameron to vanish into the nothingness that Weaver was so casually prepared to cast her into. John increased the vehicle's speed as he made his way back towards the only destination that he was sure of.

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"So this Connor…This John Connor was supposed to save the world?" Livie asked in a flat tone as he leaned back in a chair that creaked loudly as he did so. Several men who were also seated around the circular table looked over at Savannah Weaver with a decidedly skeptical gaze.

"Yes...well…" Savannah halted briefly in mid sentence, "…save the resistance, or better organize it…Or something. He's supposed to do what we have not done here. What Bedell, Derek, and Kyle Reese have been trying to do, unite the resistance into one fighting force against Skynet. We all know that without this kind of cooperation it will only be a short matter of time before this war is finally over and we are completely wiped out."

"And you know all this because you were told at the age of 9 that a 17 year old allegedly time traveled into our future, completely disrupting some sort of space time continuum?" An olive skinned Hispanic male with lieutenant bars and the name Cardoza stitched above his right breast pocket asked as he leaned forwards across the table staring unblinkingly at Savannah. She briefly glanced down at the table revealing some of her own insecurity upon being questioned in such an aggressive manner. After a split second Savannah looked back up.

"I'm not the only one that believed this…Martin…" Savannah balked correcting herself, "Colonel Bedell believed this as well."

"Isn't it strange that he didn't mention any of this information to us." a white male with black hair wearing the same digital desert camouflage as everyone else, save for Savannah asked. Master Sergeant Chevrons and rockers were sown onto the sleeves of his jacket and the name Wilder shown upon his chest.

"If you had been Bedell, would you have said anything?" Savannah asked, "I've been more involved in this than he was and I don't even know that I completely believe or understand it. And besides it was really all a moot point up until now anyways. Up until John came back."  
"And what do you expect us to do about it now…he is dead after all?" Jonathan Parker, another lieutenant that sat opposite Cardoza asked. Savannah instantly glanced down towards the table again.

"I'm not sure…" She stated, "We have to at least stop Skynet from creating another time machine." Parker wrinkled his brow, a suspicious look about his fair skinned face.

"We don't even know they are actually creating one. The only reason why you think they are, is because this, Connor mysteriously appeared here." Savannah had never liked Parker. It seemed that he challenged her every chance he got.

"Believe me when I say, we should trust that Bedell knew what he was doing when it came to John Connor."

"And we all know why Bedell kept you around." Parker shot back, a snide innuendo unmistakably evident behind his words. Several more eyes instantly turned toward Savannah. Captain Livie shot Parker a harsh glance, and he nervously responded by slowly retreating back into his chair. But a glaring insecurity could still be momentarily seen within Savannah's eyes.

Shaken but undeterred Savannah looked over at an older, short, stocky, balding male seated near one of the darker edges of the table. He had yet to say anything at this conference.

"Mr. Murch, you said that you believed Skynet is working on something unique, something we hadn't seen before, correct?"

Matt Murch leaned forward slightly bringing his aging face into the light more fully.

"Ye...Yes…" Mr. Murch stated stuttering slightly, still displaying an almost stereotypical nervousness that he always seemed to have.

"From the data I've been able to collect it does appear that Skynet is working on something completely different from anything we have seen up until this point." Savannah regained some of her confidence as Mr. Murch spoke.

"But there is no way for us to tell exactly what that is." Matt Murch added. "We only know that Skynet is gathering a massive amount of materials, for some sort of unknown project." Savannah secretly wished that he had left out that last part. The room grew silent, most of the command staff affixing their gaze upon Savannah, attempting to determine the value of her words.

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John's body was knocked toward the ground, a split second later it slammed into the hard concrete floor with a fleshy thud. The impact kicked up small particles of dirt and momentarily knocked the wind out of him. Coughing and gasping for breath John attempted to stand, but suddenly felt the pressure of a boot pushing him back down towards the ground.

"I'm really starting to get sick of you kid." A voice from the shadows spoke. Still prone on the ground and trying to catch his breath John looked around the darkened room. Moments later Derek Reese emerged from the shadows. John's heart sank. His eyes scanned further around the room and he saw several other individuals gathering near him. Kyle, Alison, and two soldiers that he had met previously, one he remembered as Spears. He could not recall the name of the other one. It was the shorter Asian looking male, the one who had wanted to kill John when he first arrived here. This man was now the one pinning him to the ground with his foot.

"He came to the southwest entrance." The Asian male stated in a cold manner and then continued, "Said he wanted to speak to you and Lieutenant Reese."

"Oh, he's gonna speak with us" Kyle snarled as he knelt next to John, "First you manage to sneak in here…naked nonetheless. Then you manage to kill one of the best resistance leaders we have, and now you're actually stupid enough to think we would just let you back in here a second time?"  
"I didn't kill Martin. Skynet attacked our helicopter." John immediately replied with an earnest sincerity behind his voice. He immediately noticed that Alison did not say a word, she stood perfectly still next to Spears, not moving, at all, a cold look of utter hatred on her face.

There was a metal screeching sound as Derek slowly pulled a steel chair towards the center of the room.

"Get him up…" Derek replied in a tone that was more a growl than a spoken statement. John felt his heart pounding within his chest as his anxiety increased exponentially. Kyle and the Asian male jerked John off the ground and over toward the chair. In a deliberately rough manner they shoved him down in the metal seat. Kyle then tied his hands and legs to the arm rests and legs of the chair with rope. The Asian male gave John an evil smile as he stepped away from him. Feeling the tight ropes around his wrists John spoke.

"I want to help you…" John said in a pleading tone, "Skynet is planning something..."

"And what's that kid?" Derek immediately responded as he began to walk around John. "Did you give Skynet our location so they could attack?" John did not know how to answer this particular question. None of this was going according to what he had planned. While he was unsure of exactly how much information he had told Fischer during his interrogation, he knew it was entirely possible that he might have divulged this faction's position.

John remained silent and before he could formulate an answer Derek took a step closer to him.

"Or is it that you're working with Skynet?" John eyes widened in disbelief,

"I'm not working with Skynet."

"Give it up!" Derek shot back, "We know all about you and your sick metal fantasy." John felt his heart drop into his stomach knowing exactly where the next line of questioning was going to lead.

"Your skin job _girlfriend_…The one you were here looking for." There was a weighted silence before Derek spit out the next set of words.

"The one that looks like Alison. We know all about it." John was speechless, so shocked that he nearly forgot to breathe.

_How do they know, how could they know_? He thought to himself as the disbelief and horror took hold of him.

"That's right kid…" Derek added, "Never thought that boy would make it out alive did you?" John instantly realized that, "that boy" was the young male he had released shortly after Catherine Weaver had freed him. He must have heard everything John had said during his drugged interrogation. John had no way of knowing that he made it back to Derek and Kyle's base. This changed everything. If he had been aware that this had happened he would never have returned, or at least not in the fashion that he did. John felt the panic creeping in.

"Is that the reason why you look at Alison the way that you do?" Kyle said in a low and slow voice. John did not immediately respond, but did flick his eyes over toward Alison. Venomous anger could be seen in her eyes.

"Was it your mission to kill Bedell or was it something else, something more?" Derek asked as he stepped back away from John resting his hands on his gun belt.

"I didn't kill Bedell…" John answered, his voice growing more urgent. "Skynet did!"

"So that was just an added bonus for you then? What was your real mission? Did it have anything to do with that skin job we destroyed?"

_Cameron…_John immediately thought the moment Derek mentioned the destruction of John Henry's body.

"I'm not with Skynet…" John said, "I'm here to help you." He then looked over at Alison who was standing perfectly still next to Sergeant Spears.

"Martin…He gave me a message for you." Alison's facial expression barely changed, but the subtle difference was noticeable enough for John to continue.

"He told me to tell you…" John balked still fighting back his own torrent of emotions that were now coursing over him.

"He told me to tell you, _me too…_"

Immediately both Kyle and Derek looked over at Alison. At first she had no reaction at all. She continued to stand perfectly still. Several seconds of complete silence drifted by before John began to notice tears welling up in Alison's eyes. A split second later she streaked across the room towards John. When she reached him, she reared her right fist back,

"You son of a bitch!" Alison shrieked as she struck John across the left side of his face. His body instantly jerked to the right from the impact. The next blow followed almost instantly. Another punch to the left side of John's face threw his body back over to the right. For a relatively small framed woman Alison could muster a surprising amount of force behind her blows.

Spears quickly moved up behind Alison grabbing her around the waist and pulling her away from John.

"I'll kill you!" Alison screamed as tears streamed down her cheeks. She flailed her arms and legs trying to break free of Spears's grasp.

"Get her out of here…Now!" Kyle yelled as he pointed towards the door.

"NO!" Alison yelled almost hysterically. Her voice overflowed with hatred and contempt as Sergeant Spears dragged her out of the room and into the hallway slamming the door as they exited. John could sense the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth.

Once Alison was gone, Kyle turned back towards John.

"No more games kid…Why are you here? What is Skynet's plan? Why do you need a machine that looks like Alison?"

"I'm not working for…" John's words were immediately cut off as he was struck again, this time by Kyle. However, this time the physical impact was far less painful than that of the emotional anguish of being struck by his own father. John felt his eyes welling up with tears again as a myriad range of emotions came crashing down on him.

"It only gets worse from here on out kid." Derek stated in a cold and callous tone as he moved back towards John.

"I'm not helping Skynet!" John shouted before Kyle hit him again.

This wasn't happening, John thought to himself. This _can't_ be happening.

"When is Skynet planning their next attack?" Derek asked.

"I don't know…" John responded as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back his emotions. The next blow came to John's stomach. He again had the wind knocked out of him and this time the impact was so strong it produced a nauseating sensation.

Derek leaned down so that his face was parallel with John's.

"Tell us what you know!" he shouted. Still gasping John was unable to respond.

"How long have you been a Grey?" Kyle asked. Finally managing to draw some air into his lungs John gasped out an answer,

"I'm not a Grey!" he said in a pleading voice. Quickly drawling a large knife from his belt Kyle immediately cut deep into John's left forearm. John howled in pain. He was then struck across the right side of his face, this time by Derek.

"Tell us what you know and this will all stop." Derek remarked as flicked his wrist slightly trying to dispel the pain that was now in his knuckles.

"I'm not working for Skynet…" John said insistently.

"Then tell us who Cameron is…" Kyle demanded. This was a question John knew he could not answer honestly. Any explanation that he gave about Cameron would only make the situation even worse.

"So she's what all of this is about." Derek said upon receiving no response from John, "Tell us about her. Were you going to kill Alison and replace her with Cameron?"

"No!" John responded.

"Then what were you doing?" Kyle asked. John said nothing. He knew it was too late. No answer he could give would be good enough.

"Alright..." Derek responded and then added, "…we'll continue to do this the hard way..."

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Spears watched as Alison paced back and forth in front of him, tears rolling down her face as she fought to contain her feelings. Quick gasps for breath came as she turned one way and then another.

"Please…" She said to Spears in a solemn voice. "Let me go back in."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Spears spoke in what he hoped was a soothing tone, noting the excruciating pain on Alison's face. She remained still for a moment, her body trembling from the emotions that she could not master. Spears felt his own anxiety increasing. He was certain that it would only be a matter of time before Alison attempted to gain entry into the room again. He did not have to wait long.

Suddenly, they heard John scream out in pain through the closed door behind Matthew Spears. No longer able to control herself Alison sprinted towards the entrance only to be grabbed around the waist again and dragged back away from the door. Spears made sure to keep a firm hold on Alison this time. After a brief struggle she finally collapsed to the ground at his feet sobbing uncontrollably.

"He killed him…" She whispered between quick breaths. Spears slowly knelt down next to her.

"He killed him…" Alison repeated as she nearly fell, weeping Spears's arms. The pair continued to listen without speaking as John screamed in pain from within the room just beyond them.

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Authors Notes: I'm very curious to know what people think of this chapter. Please review.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

The darkened hallways were lit only by the dim glow of a few flickering incandescent bulbs. Cold moisture, a clammy sensation that would chill any living thing to the bone filled the inside of these dismal tunnels. Huddled in small groups along the hallways were civilians desperately seeking warmth by whatever means possible. A few groups had fires going; others just clung to each other attempting to share their body heat. Distant coughing mixed with crying echoed in the darkness. A cloaked figure slowly walked down the bleak and winding corridors. The individual wore a tattered, faded, black trench coat with the hood pulled up over their head and a bag slung around their left shoulder. The hood made it difficult for anyone to see any recognizable characteristics in the person's face. Carefully moving past the huddled refugees the dark figure progressed deeper into the resistance's base.

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"How many viable locations have our scouts found?" Kyle asked as he leaned back in his chair rubbing his temple with his right hand.

"Viable?" Derek responded in a defeated tone as he pulled his jacket closed. He ignored the fact that it was still stained with some of John Connor's blood.

"None…Desperate enough to use, one or two maybe." There was a moment of silence as both Kyle and Derek quietly reflected upon the events confronting them inside their makeshift command and control center.

"What'd you think this kid's game plan is? What's Skynet's plan? We're long overdue for an attack." Kyle said finally breaking the silence.  
"I don't know…" Derek responded, "But he is up to something, they're both up to something. I can feel it. There is something about him that's definitely not right." Kyle nodded his head.

"There would have to be something wrong with him, he's doing all this for the machines."

"Is it really that simple though?" Derek asked. "I never understood what would possess someone to turn to Skynet."

"Greys have been around for awhile now." Kyle added, "We know some people do it because they think it's the easiest way to survive, while others do it because they are…"

"…Evil" Derek finished Kyle's sentence.

"Yes…" Kyle responded in a lower, monotone voice.

"Which one do you think he is?" Kyle took a slow breath as he thought about Derek's question.

"I'm not sure…but something is driving him to do all of this. And it appears to be much more than just mere survival for him."

"Cameron?" Derek asked

"Whatever the hell it is, it's definitely there." Kyle responded.

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John's upper torso was limp and he leaned forward slightly as if there were no life in him. Had it not been for the restraints that secured his arms and legs to the chair he would have fallen forwards to the ground. His clothes were cut and torn. He could feel the sensation of sticky, dried blood caked onto a face that was also swollen from to the beating he had taken. He could still feel some of his blood running down his face and dripping off of his lips. John's clothes were stained with his blood and for the moment he stared aimlessly at the ground in front of him, his vision blurring in and out. He was unsure exactly how long he had been interrogated or how much time had passed since Derek and Kyle had left him due to his sporadic loss of consciousness. He suspected that it had been at least two hours. The incessant questioning had almost been worse than the beating he had taken. Although he possessed very little useful information, the precious knowledge he did have could not be shared for fear that it would only make a now horrible situation worse. John now assumed that the next time Derek and Kyle came for him they would surely kill him. He had indeed made the worst tactical decision of his life by coming back to this place. If he had been privy to more information about the events at hand he would have tried something very different. Maybe he would have stayed with Weaver, but possibly not. She was after all completely content to allow Cameron to die. But, it appeared that none of it mattered now both he and Cameron would soon be gone. He took a labored breath, feeling the pain in his rib cage as he inhaled.

There was a sound at the door, and John slowly exhaled preparing for the inevitable. He heard the door swing open. In his exhaustion and pain he did not even bother to look up to see who might be entering. One executioner was the same as any other. Several seconds of silence drifted on as he tried to prepare himself for the worst. Suddenly, John felt a soft hand cup itself around his face. This surprised him. He felt the gentle touch lift his head, and he panned his gaze upward.

"S-a-v-a-n-n-a-h…" John stated in a weak voice as he looked upon his friend.

"John…" Savannah Weaver responded as she leaned him back into the metal chair. Her tone was one of noticeable concern mixed with some anger.

"What did they do to you?" She asked as she dropped her bag to the ground and retrieved a rather large pocket knife from her back pocket after which she began cutting John's hands and legs free from their rope restraints. Once this task was completed Savannah's hands again returned to John's badly bruised face. Holding him tenderly she looked into his eyes, one of which was blackened and swollen.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "Can you move?" John moaned in pain before responding.

"I thought you were dead…" he said, his voice still weak.

"I thought the same thing about you." Savannah responded

"They think I killed Martin." John replied.

"I know."

"I didn't." he added.

I know…" The despair in Savannah's voice grew more obvious. "Can you walk?" She asked.

"I…I think so." Savannah helped John to his feet and then quickly retrieved a black cloak from the bag that was lying next to her on the ground. She placed it around John's shoulders and pulled the hood up over his head until his face was covered.

"We have to hurry." Savannah said as she wrapped her arm around John's waist and helped him over to the exit door, opening it for him. To John's surprise he noted that there were no guards standing watch. This slightly confused him, but due to his current state of mind, he did not pay it much attention.

John and Savannah moved quickly through the doorway and cautiously began to make their way down the dark tunnels.

"Did you tell them anything?" Savannah quietly asked.

"I didn't have anything to tell them." John responded, "Well nothing that would have made any sense." He added. As they hurried along Savannah kept her arm around John trying to support some of his weight.

As John and Savannah worked their way further and further out of the core of the resistance base the number of people milling about began to grow. At first there were only small groups scattered here and there, but as they neared the exit the groups grew in number and size. Savannah sensed her anxiety growing as she sought to hide John's identity from the increasing number of individuals that were wandering around them. And then the inevitable happened. Savannah saw a guard armed with a plasma rifle approaching them. She dropped her head slightly attempting to further obscure her face with her hood.

"Keep your head down." She whispered to John as they continued to walk onwards. John's eyes glanced downward. He was not armed and in his current state he doubted he would be able to disarm this particular individual using nothing more than his hands. Still he knew that something along those lines may soon become necessary. John continued to search his mind for ideas on what he should do if the worst were to happen.

As the guard passed by he glanced over at them briefly before continuing on. Savannah breathed a quick sign of relief, but it was a premature one. A few seconds went by before,

"Hey…" The guard called out as he turned around.

"Shit…" Savannah said under her breath. "Keep walking." The pair picked up their pace slightly as the guard began to walk after them.

"Hey!" The soldier yelled as he increased the speed of his pursuit.

"Hey!" The guard shouted again, "I'm talking to you." Savannah and John immediately stopped dead in their tracks in the center of the corridor. The soldier walked up behind them carelessly pointing the barrel of his rifle towards the ground. That was a mistake.

"Lemme see your faces." He demanded. Neither John nor Savannah moved. "I said; let me see your faces." The guard spoke in a more annoyed tone as he moved a bit closer.

Savannah quickly spun around pulling her hood off of her head revealing her face. At the same time she reached inside of her trench coat and drew her Smith and Wesson M&P .45. Before the guard could react she pointed her weapon at his head.

"Holy…" The guard's words were cut off the moment Savannah pulled the trigger. His head jerked back as blood splattered everywhere. His body went limp and collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Almost immediately there were shrieks and screams of fear as civilians began to scatter in every direction.

Savannah quickly moved to retrieve the downed soldier's plasma rifle. After doing so she turned and hurried back toward John.

"Run!" She yelled as she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. Savannah's gunshot had transformed the hallways into a mass of confusion. Civilians mixed with soldiers as each tried to figure out exactly what was happening.

Coming around a corner, John at last saw the exit, a simple concrete stair case that would presumably lead to the surface. However, it was guarded by two soldiers. But in the all the confusion they had not yet noticed John and Savannah approaching their position. Savannah raised her plasma rifle and squeezed the trigger. A plasma bolt streaked down the hallway and struck the first guard in the chest knocking him back against the wall before he slid down it. The second guard immediately opened fire.

Savannah and John ducked into an adjoining corridor for cover and Savannah fired back at the remaining guard. As this was occurring John glanced back down the hallway behind them. To his surprise he saw someone he immediately recognized. The Asian male soldier that had first found him, the one that had helped Derek and Kyle torture him. He was now running down the hall towards them. Due to the distance in the dim corridor the soldier had not yet recognized John and Savannah, but it would only be moments before he did.

John reached around the right side of Savannah's body and pulled back her trench coat and drew her sidearm from her thigh holster. He quickly turned down the hallway and away from Savannah and aimed his weapon at the soldier who had now grown close enough to recognize him. The soldier was the first to fire. The plasma round streaked by John's head. It was so close that he could actually smell the sulfuric scent the plasma bolt produced. John responded by squeezing the trigger to his firearm. The first round struck the soldier in the right shoulder pushing him off balance, but not knocking him down. John immediately fired a second round this time hitting the Asian male in the upper chest. The man lurched backwards and fell to the ground, dropping his rifle as he did so.

Unbeknownst to Savannah, John slowly and deliberately moved away from her over towards the now fallen solder. As he moved through the crowd of fleeing civilians that were running in every direction around him, John's battered face took on a dark and sinister complexion. When he reached his target, John found that the soldier was still attempting to reach for his plasma rifle which was located beside him. The soldier's fingers were just about to grasp the pistol grip when John stepped on his hand with his boot producing a sharp cracking sound as he applied pressure. The soldier grimaced in pain and fear as John raised his gun towards the man's head. John paused momentarily before he felt all of the anger and hatred that had been accumulating in the past hours manifest itself inside of him. All that he had been through, all that Kyle and Derek and this faction had done to him seemed to burst forth. John squeezed the trigger to his firearm. The soldier's head snapped back from the impact of the bullet striking his head and his blood spattered across John's face. The soldier's body went limp. For the next few seconds John stood quietly over the dead body just looking at it, examining it with an almost clinical detachment.

"John!" Savannah shouted, but John did not respond, he stood perfectly still just staring down at the man he had killed.

"John!" she shouted again this time breaking him from his trance.

"Let's go!" John quickly retrieved the soldier's plasma rifle and moved away from the body and over to Savannah who was now rounding the corner after dispensing with the guard that had remained at the exit.

As they reached the exit staircase a plasma round sudden streaked over Savannah's shoulder. It struck the concrete wall next to her producing a minor explosion and leaving a small crater in the wall. John turned and saw several more soldiers running towards their position. He started to raise his plasma rifle to return fire, but before he could he was grabbed by Savannah.

"Go!" she yelled as she pushed John up the stairs as they began their race towards the surface. As the pair made their rapid ascent Savannah retrieved a hand held radio from her belt.

"East side entrance!" she shouted into it before sliding it back onto her belt. She then produced a grenade from her pocket. Pulling the pin she tossed the explosive back down the stairs.

"Run!" She yelled as she and John burst through a doorway and onto what was the ground floor of a burned out building. A split second later the grenade detonated. The force of the explosion knocked both of them to the ground. John moaned in pain at the moment of impact against the hard concrete surface. Lying motionless he did not immediately attempt to rise. Savannah scrambled to her feet and grabbed him by the arm.

"Get up John…You have to get up!" She yelled as she dragged him to his feet.

Moving through an open door in the building they made their way out into the cold night air. Moments later John heard the roar of a vehicle engine and saw a dark colored Chevrolet Avalanche pull around the debris of a collapsed building before sliding to a stop in front of them.

"That's our ride." Savannah said as she pushed John over to the beat up SUV. Savannah opened the rear passenger door, John nearly jumped back in amazement. Seated behind the wheel of the Avalanche was Sergeant Matthew Spears. John's eyes widened slightly with surprise upon seeing him seated there.

"It's okay John..." Savannah stated, "…he's with us." Still in somewhat of a state of shock John climbed into the back passenger area of the SUV, followed closely by Savannah. Once the door of the vehicle was closed Spears immediately accelerated and the SUV sped away into the night.

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Authors Notes: Review! Review!


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

The Chevy Avalanche rocked back and forth as it bounced across the rocky terrain. The roadway was dark, and the vehicle ran with its headlights off so as to better hide itself amongst the ruins of the city. It had been nearly 30 minutes since John's escape from the Reese faction and in that entire time no one inside the cabin of the SUV had uttered a word. In silence they drove quietly along.

The seats creaked as the Avalanche struck another pothole and was jostled from the impact. Everyone in the vehicle was jerked slightly to one side upon the impact. Still no one spoke. The interior of the vehicle remained strangely quiet. Only the droning sound of vehicle noise was audible until Savannah at last broke the silence.

"Are you…Are you okay?" she asked as she looked over at John, who did not immediately respond. Instead, he stared out of the left side rear passenger window, a blank expression on his face. Another few seconds drifted by before Savannah tried again.

"John…" She said, "Are you okay?" Her question was again met by several more seconds of silence before John finally responded.

"What the hell is going on here Savannah?" he asked not bothering to look over at her, still staring out the window with the same lifeless expression. Savannah gave John a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I thought you were dead?" he added. Then without pause he followed quickly with, "How did you know I was there? How did you know they were…" John's voice trailed off. Savannah took a short breath before answering.

"Shortly after you returned to the Reese Faction, Sergeant Spears made contact with me and informed me of the situation."

"Why?" John asked a deadpan expression still on his face and a complete absence of any emotion in his voice.

"Why did he do that?"

"Sergeant Spears has always worked for us. He has consistently reported on numerous situations within the Reese Faction." Savannah glanced at Spears as she replied and then back over at John who sighed slightly.

"I thought they were your allies?" John's voice continued to lack any feeling, or even genuine curiosity. It was flat with an almost eerie numbness to it. Savannah flicked her eyes down momentarily and then back up at John.

"Just because someone is your friend doesn't mean you trust them in all things John." Silence returned to the cabin briefly before Savannah continued.

"If I had not done all that I did, you, I, or both of us would be dead." There was another pause before she continued.

"This world is very different…different from anything you have ever been told about." There was a remorseful tone in Savannah's voice as she spoke.

"What do you mean?" John demanded. Savannah sighed and shook her head slightly.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be anything like this; it was not supposed to happen this way. You...you were supposed to unite the factions. I think that's what is unique about you, John. You're some sort of Nexus. When you do something, everyone tends to follow your lead." John failed to respond except to continue to stare out the window of the SUV as they drove on.

"We can not win…" Savannah said as the despair in her tone grew, "…we won't win. And humanity doesn't have much time left. Bedell estimated a year maybe, two tops. This world is lost John. When you left, you took our only chance of survival with you. And even though you are here now, it is too late for us." Silence encompassed the passenger area for a brief moment.

"There was chaos after Judgment Day." Savannah stated breaking the still. "Almost no one knew what was going on or what exactly had happened. At first everyone tried to blame each other. There were many different theories flying around. Some thought it had been a terrorist strike; however it quickly became obvious that no terrorist organization had the resources to carry out something like world wide thermonuclear war, so the blame shifted to the world powers. What was left of America and the western world blamed the Middle East, Russia, North Korea, or China. Those countries blamed the US, and England. No one really knew who did it. And in all those ensuing arguments and battles between what was left of those governments Skynet gained the perfect opportunity to secretly build up its forces. By the time anyone was able to figure out what had actually happened it was already too late." Savannah shifted uncomfortably in her seat before continuing.

"I was just barely a teenager then and…" She hesitated. "I had no one. With Mr. Ellison gone, I had no one. But I saw what was coming."

John continued to gaze out of the window of the vehicle, still not looking back over at Savannah.

"At first whatever remained of each country's military tried to band together to fight Skynet, but with command and control broken down it was difficult to keep the lines of communication open between all of them. As the situation grew worse factions began to break off. Eventually, the entire system virtually collapsed and it created what you see today. Each faction seems to think its own way is the best and while we do work together from time to time, especially when it comes to fighting Skynet nothing is coordinated. Alliances between factions come and go, and we continue to fight amongst ourselves."

"Why?" John asked to which Savannah shrugged.

"Why does any country go to war against another? Resources, land, power, control, revenge...after awhile, it all becomes the same. And like I said, we don't have much time left." Savannah took a long look at John.

"Nothing here is what it was supposed to be. Everything has changed because you left." John still did not show any emotion. There was another brief pause before a suspicious look gradually made its way across John's face.

"How…How did you survive after Judgment Day?" John asked. Savannah eyes shifted around the passenger area of the vehicle.

"What…What do you mean?" She asked stuttering, nervousness encroaching on her.

"You said you were just barely a teenager after Judgment Day. How does a teenager with no help from anyone survive in a shattered world?" Savannah was becoming visibly uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

"How could you leave us?" She said quietly in an almost accusatory tone.

Finally, breaking his gaze away from the outside John turned his battered face back towards Savannah.

"How did you survive?" He asked in a slow, low tone. A visible look of fear began to make its way into Savannah's eyes. This was a departure from her previously cold and callus demeanor. Savannah hesitated briefly and now seemed unable to look at John.

"It's complicated…" she responded.

"How?" John asked again.

"I told you, it's complicated..."

"Savannah!" John barked in an angry voice. Savannah nearly jumped out of her seat, and Spears's head momentarily whipped around to look at both of the individuals seated behind him.

"Danny alright!" Savannah finally shouted back. "Danny Dyson..." Her voice grew quieter and John looked at her with a curious gaze.

"I told you…" she said, "After he killed Mr. Ellison he came and found me." Savannah was becoming visibly shaken.

"He wanted me…" Savannah balked, "both he and Skynet wanted me because of who I was." Savannah's eyes began to grow glassy as tears filled them.

"I was taken to a Skynet base where the first Greys were located."

"The first Greys?" John asked.  
"Danny, Charles Fischer, a few others. Over time their numbers would grow." Savannah swallowed before continuing.

"They did things to me…trained me. It's where I learned how to be a pilot, it's where I learned how to…" Savannah cut herself off in mid sentence.

"So you were a Grey?" John asked point blank.

"I was a kid!…" Savannah shot back. "I was a scared kid trying to survive." Her voice grew a little quieter.

"I didn't have a choice. They never gave me a choice. Danny NEVER gave me a choice." Savannah's voice trailed off. John wrinkled his brow slightly.

"How did you escape?" he asked, "How did you end up with Martin." Savannah repositioned herself in her seat again, still visibly uncomfortable.

"It was several years after Judgment Day. I was…" Savannah paused thinking momentarily, "…16. I was assigned to a small interrogation facility. I was supposed to observe, to learn. They were training me to eventually become one of their own human interrogators. Skynet has found that they are quite effective given the correct set of circumstances." John fought to hide his own uneasy facial response at the mention of this.

"Skynet had captured a soldier and an Infiltrator was interrogating him…torturing him. I had to watch." Savannah voice grew quieter.

"At the time we didn't know, but Martin was planning an attack. After the battle Martin found me hiding in what was left of the Skynet base. Several of his soldiers wanted to kill me, said I was nothing but a Grey." Sadness continued to grow in Savannah's voice. "I don't know why he didn't." She then added.

"I guess he saw something in me worth saving…" Savannah glanced back down at the floor of the vehicle as she spoke.

"He brought me back to his faction and I've been with him ever since." Savannah paused, "Right up until the time he was killed." Savannah looked away from John and back out her window. An uncomfortable silence fell over the passenger area yet again. Finally, John spoke,

"I'm sorry…" He said in a melancholy voice.

"Damn you John…" Savannah quickly responded her voice quaking with emotion. "Damn you for making me tell you all that." The Chevy Avalanche drove on into the night. The occupants of the vehicle no longer speaking as they made their way further along their journey.

/

Authors Notes: Review! Review!


	18. Chapter 18

"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight...It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope..."  
J. Michael Straczynski

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CHAPTER 18

The Blackhawk helicopter jolted slightly as it touched down onto the helipad and the engines groaned as they began to power down. A beaten and exhausted John Connor slowly turned his head and looked out of the window of the helicopter with a vacant and dazed look in his eyes. John had not spoken a word since their transition from the SUV over to the helicopter. The early morning sunlight was just beginning to make its way between the burnt out buildings that surrounded the helicopter. For the moment John remained motionless just staring out of the window. A few moments passed before the passenger compartment's door was pulled open. Cold air rushed in and whipped around the interior compartment. John squinted his eyes in the light that was now being allowed in.

Savannah Weaver stood in the doorway. The wind from the still spinning helicopter blades whipped her hair around and a few strands found their way across her eyes. Using her hand she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"John…" She said, "…come with me." As John climbed out of the helicopter he saw Sergeant Spears walking past him in the direction of an old, beat up pickup truck. John presumed he was going to use this vehicle to tow the helicopter to a more clandestine location after it had been fully secured.

Savannah motioned with her head for John to follow her and they made their way over to a dark green Jeep Wrangler that was parked several yards away from the landing area. Upon reaching it two soldiers exited the vehicle and made their way to back to a second Jeep that was parked directly behind the Wrangler that awaited John and Savannah.

"We need to hurry…" Savannah said as she climbed into the driver's seat, "…we can't risk being out long after sunrise." John did not respond except to quietly make his way around to the passenger's side of the Jeep and enter the vehicle after which Savannah put the Wrangler into gear and both Jeeps began to make their way down a rocky and debris strewn roadway.

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John walked down the darkened stairwell following closely behind Savannah; the air inside the corridor although slightly warmer than the outside was still somewhat cool. Once the duo reached the base of the stairs they walked for several yards down a hallway until they reached a large metal door guarded by two soldiers with plasma rifles. Next to each soldier was a Labrador, one was black and the other was yellow, albeit a dirty yellow. Savannah reached over and petted one of the dogs on the head. Slightly wagging its tail the yellow lab whined a greeting to her.

"Weaver, EN3472." Savannah said in a flat tone.

One of the guards turned his gaze from Savannah to John who casually reached out and allowed one of the dogs to smell his hand. Giving John little attention the guard standing in front of him glanced back over at Savannah.

"He's with me." She said. The guard nodded and slowly open the large metal door.

Stepping through the doorway and walking into a long and moderately lit hallway John immediately noticed that the temperature had increased. While one could still not say that it was warm, it was a much more comfortable than what the climate had been outside. Savannah once again motioned with her head for John to follow her.

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Making their way deeper into the base John noticed a large number of soldiers walking about, along with a small compliment of civilians. He was surprised to see the dramatic difference between Bedell's faction and the Reese faction. While the latter was organized and efficient, Bedell's faction seemed much more regimented and militaristic. John concluded that most of the members of this faction had been put together from the remnants of prior military units or at the very least from former Law Enforcement personnel. The civilians that worked within the base appeared to have some sort of specific function, if not they were probably only based here temporarily until they could be moved to a more suitable location. However, John was unsure where that location may be.

Savannah rounded a corner and passed two more sets of guards before walking down another descending staircase. As they proceeded deeper into the base of operations the lights appeared to brighten. John also could not help but notice several sets of eyes that stared at him as they continued their trek.

After several minutes of walking Savannah and John came to a section of the underground establishment that looked almost like a hotel room hallway. Doors were located on both sides of the corridor and each one John assumed would lead to a different room. Savannah passed by several before finally reaching one particular door. Retrieving a key from her pocket she unlocked the door and then opened it.

"Come in…" She said to John as she stepped inside.

The room itself was relatively small similar to any run down hotel room. There was a small bed with a few sheets strewn across it located in the far corner of the room. Two freestanding lockers were to John's right and a small table and wooden chair to his left, a Spartan living environment at best.

"You should get some rest." Savannah stated as she motioned over towards the bed. "You've been through a lot." She paused briefly and then spoke again. "There are some MRE's in the locker if you're hungry." John noted a certain caring tone had again crept its way into her voice. He stood quietly for a brief moment before responding.

"Where are you going to be?" he asked. Savannah glanced back over her shoulder and out of her room's open door.

"I have some…" She hesitated before finishing her sentence. It seemed as if she were searching for the correct words, or possibly the most useful lie to say,

"…business I need to attend to. Make yourself at home." She then added, "It's not much but it is warm and dry." Savannah turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Thank you…" John said in a muffled tone. Savannah stopped and turned her head to look back at John.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said in a quiet and solemn voice after which she did not immediately move. She just stood looking at John not saying a word. After a few brief seconds of quiet Savannah finally turned away from him and walked out of the room closing the door behind her, leaving John alone. He stood quietly for a moment before finally making his way over to Savannah's bed. Exhausted he collapsed onto the mattress. While this was not the most comfortable mattress or softest sheets John had ever felt, they were a much needed relief from the events of the last several days. John closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. However, slumber would not come easily; in fact, it would not come at all.

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Captain Livie slowly closed the conference room door behind him leaving only Savannah and him standing quietly inside of the room. Several moments of silence passed before Savannah finally spoke.

"I had to…We need him." She said. "They were going to kill him. I could just…" Livie cut her off.

"I get it alright…" He said sharply, surprising Savannah. There was a brief hesitation on Livie's part before he spoke again.

"I get that Bedell believed he was important and that you think the same thing. And to an extent I believe both of you, but this was not the way to do it. You've completely burned Spears's cover; he won't be able to go back there. You've alienated our faction from the Reese's and God knows what else is going to befall us because of your actions."

"He didn't have any time left they were going to kill him." Savannah shot back.

"I know they were." Livie stated.

"Then what was I supposed to do?" she asked, "I would think they're not going to attack, they're no match for our forces." There was a momentary pause while Livie thought about his response. He then spoke,

"They're no match for us alone, but if they were to garner another Faction's help then who knows what they could be capable of." Savannah's eyes shot towards the ground upon hearing his statement. This was a scenario she had not necessarily thought of.

"But, it's not just that, they are an ally. Or at least they were until you pulled this stunt." Savannah's eyes continued to gaze downwards.

"You're letting your personal feelings impair your judgment." Livie said to which Savannah still did not respond. He then shook his head.

"Where is he now?"

"He's in my room." Livie's eyebrows perked up slightly. "Along with everything else he's gone through I'm sure he hasn't slept for days. I figured he could use the break." Livie nodded.

"Give him a couple hours then we'll talk to him."

Savannah nodded before slowly turning and walking over towards the door, but before she could reach it Livie called out to her,  
"Savannah..." he said. She stopped, but did not turn to look at him.

"I can't guarantee that a vote will be in his favor." He said. Savannah let out a brief sigh before speaking.

"I know..." She responded in a sad tone before opening the door in front of her and walking out of the room.

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Though he had been afforded the opportunity to sleep, rest would not come to John. Hours had passed as he tossed and turned in bed, his mind denying him any reprieve. Recent events, along with a multitude of other questions and ideas gnawed away at his consciousness. After finally coming to the realization that he was not going to be able to sleep John had risen. He took Savannah's advice and consumed one of the MRE's that was stored in her locker. It may not have been the best food he had ever eaten, but John found that at that moment it certainly tasted as if it were. Going over the inescapable questions in his mind for what seemed to be an eternity John was constantly aware of the fact that Cameron's time was running out and so were his options. Finally, after an exhaustive and grueling thought process that had nearly pushed him to the brink of insanity he came to the dismal conclusion of what his choices were for both Cameron and the future itself. John left Savannah's room in search of what had become the inescapable answer to his questions. The only solution to rectify this broken future was a horrifying one to say the least, but in the end it was both Cameron and humanity's only hope.

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John quietly made his way through a large underground parking deck. The poorly lit expanse housed numerous salvaged vehicles; mostly trucks or SUV's, however a few cars were scattered throughout the parking lot as well. Most of the vehicle's paint and bodies had seen much better days. Few had escaped any damage at all. John assumed that not all of the vehicles were in working condition either. Walking through the parking deck he felt a sickening feeling growing within him as he eyed each vehicle attempting to decide exactly which one he would take.

"I knew you'd come here…" A quiet voice said from the darkness. John quickly spun around searching the shadows to ascertain who had seen him. A few seconds of silence passed before Savannah Weaver emerged from behind one of the concrete pillars near John. He felt his anxiety rising.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a somewhat nervous tone.

"I know what you're doing." Savannah said as she moved closer to John.

"You can't do this." She said, "I can't let you do this." The remorse in her voice grew as she spoke. John knew he would not be able to lie himself out of this situation.

"I have to do this…" John finally said grief instantly marking his tone. "There is no other choice. She doesn't have any other choice. None of us do." Savannah's response was immediate. There was a loud pop that echoed off the concrete walls as she smacked John across the face. His head barely moved from the impact and he gave little response to the minor amount of pain that it had caused him. Tears welled up in Savannah's eyes.

"How dare you…" She said her voice beginning to tremble due to her emotional state.

"We need you."

"It's too late..." John quickly shot back. "You said so yourself, a year, maybe two before all this is gone." There was a weighted pause before he continued.

"Don't you see?" He said, "I can fix all this. If I can get her back, I can fix everything. Nothing here will matter anymore." Deep down John knew he could never be completely sure of this solution, but he none the less believed it. He had to believe it; it was the only thing he had left to believe in. Otherwise John knew he would not be able to accomplish what needed to be done.

"All this…" Savannah said quietly, "All this for a machine…"

"She's not a machine." John responded. "At least not to me..." A stillness fell over the area before John broke the silence once again.  
"But I need your help. I need your help to get out of here." Savannah did not respond. She just stood silently staring at John.

"Please…" He said now in a pleading tone. Savannah sighed and slowly reached into her pocket retrieving a set of vehicle keys. She clutched them tightly in her hand, not immediately turning them over to John, who now took a step closer.

"Please Savannah." He said as he slowly moved his hand towards hers. Savannah continued to grip the keys firmly. As John reached out to her, Savannah leaned towards John closing her eyes as she did so. Savannah gently pressed her lips up against John's, kissing him. Neither one of them immediately moved after this; both remained perfectly still, their lips tenderly touching one another's.

As Savannah continued to kiss John she slowly moved her hand with the keys over to him and slid them into his palm. There was another fleeting moment of hesitation on both of their parts, before John slowly pulled away from Savannah. She did not immediately move, but rather stood perfectly still with her eyes closed for another moment.

"Go…" Savannah finally whispered to John who took a step back away from her.

"Thank you…" he replied in a somber voice. A tear rolled down Savannah's cheek when she nodded her head in response. John turned and walked away leaving Savannah standing alone in the cold parking garage.

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The Chevy Silverado bounced along the roadway as John drove quickly through the cityscape. The sun was beginning to set and he looked into the distance towards a massive structure that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He saw several mid sized skyscrapers which were all interconnected at their base by a larger building like structure. Woven in between the towers were numerous power conduits and a steel latticework that helped to connect the entire structure which was at least 25 to 30 acres in size. As John grew closer he could see a large wall that had been erected around the structure itself. On the wall were massive plasma cannons which were located approximately every hundred feet. In the air circling above the establishment were multiple unidentifiable flying objects. John assumed these Skynet aircraft performed some sort of maintenance function. The roadway grew smoother and more structured as John came closer to the establishment. He knew he would not be able to drive for much longer before he would need to proceed on foot.

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The sun was setting behind the massive building and nightfall was all but upon him. The cold night air blew through the area and John pulled his jacket tighter around his body as he approached the massive castle like walls. He could easily make out the sounds of large mechanized systems which were just beyond the exterior fortifications. Fire could be seen billowing out of several sets of smoke stacks which stuck out of the base of the architecture. Dark clouds of smog poured out of other exhaust piping. John continued his walk closer as he made his way down the paved roadway.

Finally, when he drew to within what he estimated was about 100 yards of the main entrance doors he was suddenly blinded by several sets of spotlights placed atop search towers which were built into the defensive walls. He stopped walking and slowly raised his hands above his head. John heard the pistons and servos which controlled several sets of the massive plasma cannons buzz and hiss as they sung down to bear on him. He stood motionless staring up into the bright lights that now illuminated both him and the roadway. For the moment at least, there was no reaction from the plasma cannons.

"Come on you bastards…" John said in an angry and gravelly voice, "You _know_ who I am."

Several moments of silence went by before John heard the thud of locks disengaging and then two large doors located on the protective wall in front of him began to slowly open. John remained still as he saw several Terminators emerge through the large doorway, their siliverish endoskeletons glistening in the bright spotlights as they grew closer to him. The dreadful machine's burning red eyes remained locked on John the entire time they approached. He did not move, but waited for the T-888's to approach him. When the machines finally reached him they surrounded John, their plasma rifles pointed at him. They stood silently, as if they were waiting for John to make his next move. John swallowed a long hard swallow, took a breath and spoke.

"Take me to Fischer…" He said in a low voice. The Terminators did not immediately respond, but just stood staring at him. Finally, one of the T-888's standing directly in front of John nodded its head and motioned for John to follow it using its metal skeleton like hand. The Terminator then turned and walked towards the entrance of the Skynet base. Flanked on both sides by machines John followed after it.

...

Author's Notes: Review! Review!


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

John sat silently in the corner of the cell staring across the room with a blank expression draped about his face. The room itself contained absolutely nothing; it was just four stainless steel walls, a light built into the ceiling above him, and a solid metal door located across the room. At this point he felt nothing but an overwhelming apathy for his situation. He allowed his eyes to slowly open and then close as he sat quietly. If anyone had been watching him they would probably assume that he was about to doze off, however, this was far from the truth. John had come to the bitter realization that it would be quite some time before he slept, if he was ever able to do so again.

The hours drifted by as John waited, and as time progressed onward he began to notice that there was a significant change to both his behavior and emotions. While he had been held captive by the Reese Faction, John had been nervous and uneasy awaiting the outcome of events. Now, he felt as if he no longer cared; life, death, survival, none of it really mattered to him anymore. There was just the droning existence that remained of his life and of all things to come.

There was only one emotion left that John could truly feel with any noticeable discernment. It had taken hold of him and was now driving him…it was the malevolent feeling of anger. He wanted revenge; he wanted to lash out against everyone and everything. He wanted revenge against John Henry for taking Cameron away. He felt a deeply malicious hatred towards Catherine Weaver for her role in this entire situation, for daring to keep Cameron from him. There was the burning animosity that he felt for Skynet, for Charles Fischer. And there was his family. He was furious with his mother for allowing herself to be captured and later killed by the very people that he was supposed to lead. There was fury towards Derek and Kyle for what they had done to him. He felt a rage towards the entire resistance, a vicious splintered gang of killers that would never succeed in their ultimate goal thanks to their own petty misgivings. Finally, there was his anger towards himself. This emotion appeared to be the strongest feeling of them all. John hated himself for what he had allowed to occur, for what he had done, for what he was about to do, and for what he would soon become. His anger had become an all consuming rage upon his realization of what must now transpire. This terrible understanding had come shortly after his arrival at Bedell's camp. The idea was horrific, but one he had to accept. The dark truth was that everyone and everything that was in this timeline was already destined to be lost. There was no way that this resistance had any hope of winning the war. They were doomed; they had doomed themselves from the very beginning. While the thoughts of what he must now do disgusted him, John had come to the bitter conclusion that there was indeed only one way for him to save Cameron and in turn save humanity itself. All of the mistakes that had been made in this timeline had to be corrected. His time jump had created this horrifying place and now he had to fix it. John knew that in order to succeed in saving any future, he must first destroy this one. He exhaled slowly as he stared with cold, dead eyes towards the door located across the room from him.

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There was the screeching of metal on metal as the cell door slowly began to open. Initially, John could not see who or what was standing out in the hallway. However, after a few brief seconds Charles Fischer walked into the room. He was flanked by two T-888's and both Terminators stared at John with their burning red eyes. Fischer looked at John with a detached curiosity.

"Why are you here?" he asked flatly. John did not answer; he just continued to stare across the room with the same blank expression on his face. Fischer tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Why...are...you...here…" He asked with a deliberate gap between the words. He then added, "I won't ask again." John still said nothing. He just continued to look straight ahead.

"Fine…" Fischer responded as he turned away from John. "Let's go…" he said to the Terminators on either side of him as he moved towards the door.

"Because I want her back…" John said in a gravelly voice. Fischer paused and looked over his shoulder at John.

"Because you want who back?" He asked a certain smugness in his tone.

"You know who…" John remarked. Unaware that Fischer had produced a sly smile upon hearing his statement. Fischer then turned to face John.

"What makes you think Skynet will help you now? You've already burned that bridge don't you think?"

"You get me Cameron back…" John paused briefly. "I'll do whatever you want."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Fischer asked.

"It's like you said, nothing I do here really matters…except her." Fischer nodded his head in response.

"You can always change things." He said with a smile that somehow managed to look both helpful and morally twisted at the same time. Fischer then leaned down next to John and whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry John…You can no longer afford to take the moral high ground. In order to destroy a monster, you yourself must become a monster." While the latter words however cryptic they may have been had no measurable impact on John, Fischer's simple statement of, "I'm sorry John…" brought back the horrifying memory of Cameron's last words as they flashed on the computer screen in the basement of the Zeira Corporation building. In that agonizing moment John's reasoning for his coming actions became unmistakably clear. Cameron had saved his life countless times, she had been there for him when no one else had, and in the end she had sacrificed her own existence for him. The rest of the world be damned! He would not, he could not, allow her to vanish into the night, to be forgotten, John knew that no matter the cost to anyone in this timeline he had to get her back, he would not let Cameron die.

"I understand…" Fischer stated, breaking John's train of thought. "…people do crazy things when they're in love." Fischer said as he moved back away from John who still did not react to his words.

"But you're still going to have to give Skynet something in return for Cameron. And it's going to have to be significant." John took a breath, closing his eyes momentarily and thought of Cameron one last time before he spoke.

"Skynet has a Terminator construction facility not far from here correct?" Fischer wrinkled his brow, somewhat surprised that John knew this.

"That's correct…" he said, "How did you know that?"

"Catherine Weaver, the Liquid Metal Terminator that I spoke to you about is there. She is attempting to reconstruct a Terminator's body for her own purposes." Fischer's eyes widened slightly with excitement upon hearing this new bit of valuable information, information that he would eagerly turn over the Skynet.

"She has Cameron's chip." John added in a cold, detached tone.

"You mean John Henry's chip?" Fischer asked.

"Yes…" John's voice grew lower. He then for the first time looked up at Fischer. "Bring me her chip." He said allowing some of his anger to slip through. Fischer took a half step back away from John possibly out of surprise, maybe even fear. He then turned to one of the T-888's standing next to him who even before Fischer could speak a word nodded almost immediately.

"Is that good enough?" John asked, a slight haughtiness in his tone

"For now…" Fischer responded.

"You get me Cameron back…and I'll give you more." John said with an emotional hollowness behind his voice.

"Wait here…" Fischer ordered as he quickly turned and walked out of the room followed closely by his two Terminator body guards. Once the cell door closed John took another deep breath.

"That one's for you, Savannah." He said quietly under his breath. John was almost certain that he had just handed down a death sentence for Catherine Weaver, but he no longer cared. The only person in this timeline that now held any true significance to him was Cameron. She had indeed become all that mattered to him. He continued to sit on the cold metal floor staring blankly at the door in front of him.

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As the hours passed John remained in an almost catatonic state, staring aimlessly at the entrance to his cell, no specific thoughts came to his mind; there was a virtual blankness inside of him. Just then the screeching of metal could again be heard and the cell door slowly opened. John did not move. He watched as Fischer once again emerged through the doorway, the two T-888's that had accompanied him before were still present. Fischer took a long hard look at John before speaking.

"What happened to you?" He finally asked.

"What do you mean?" John responded. Using his hand Fischer pointed to John's visible injuries.

"We didn't do that to you…who did?" John's jaw clenched slightly.

"Some of the human resistance thought that I had information regarding Skynet." There was an eerie detachment in his voice as he used the term, "human resistance".

"And did you tell them anything?" Fischer asked. John slowly tilted his head up towards Fischer, a disturbingly repugnant look on his face.

"And what could I have told them?" he asked. John's voice grew slightly lower, "What could I have told them that they would have believed?" For an odd reason John's response produced an ever so slight nervous reaction by Fischer. John found that to be quite peculiar.

"How did you escape?" John thought briefly for a moment before responding.

"I managed to slip out of the ropes that they had secured me with." John's tone remained ice cold as he spoke.

"After dealing with a sentry that I caught off guard, I was able to slip out of the base undetected." John knew, of course, that this was an obvious lie. However, he had concluded that if he were to reveal the actual course of events to Fischer it would inevitably put Savannah's life in danger. And even with his now boundless hatred and apathy for the people in this timeline, John realized that he was not ready to do such a despicable thing…at least not yet.

"Hhhmm…Interesting." Fischer responded. There was silence for a moment before Fischer spoke again.

"Well your information was correct. There was a Liquid Metal Terminator located at the Terminator construction facility, one that had not been built by Skynet. At least not our Skynet." John nodded his head in response.

"And Cameron's chip?" he asked, a slight nervousness now making its way into his tone. Fischer responded with an evil smile.

"It is safe…" he said. John immediately breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "There is one problem though." John's heart rate quickly jumped again.

"And what's that?" he asked. Fischer smiled again.

"Come with me John." he said as he motioned with his hand towards the open cell door. John flicked his eyes over towards the Terminators located on either side of Fischer before slowly standing. He could feel stiffness in his legs from being seated for so long.

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John and Fischer walked out of the cell and into a cool, brightly lit stainless steel hallway. John glanced around and could see that he was obviously in some sort of prisoner holding section of the Skynet base. Cell doors lined both sides of the hallway; however, John could not hear anyone inside of the rooms themselves. And as he and Fischer walked down the corridor John also discovered that he did not see anyone through the small glass windows that were placed in the cell doors.

_Where are all the people?_ John thought quietly to himself. _Why would Skynet have holding cells and not keep anyone inside?_

"Where are we going? John asked as they walked.

"There's someone I want you to meet." Fischer said.

John and Fischer continued their trek down the corridor until they reached a set of doors that led into an elevator. After John, Fischer, and the Terminators boarded the elevator it began to ascend. The trip lasted so long that John concluded that they must be inside one of the large towers that he had seen outside the walls of the Skynet base.

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The doors to the elevator opened and John observed the inside of a large brightly lit room. It was square in shape, but as he approached the center of it he could see a few sets of stairs descending into a more central location. Hanging from the ceiling near the center of the room and surrounding the concave part of the floor plan were several glass monitors. John was unable to determine exactly what was on them, but it appeared to be random mathematical formulas, interrupted periodically by schematics. In the center of the room was a large white table that appeared to be attached via a central cylinder to the floor itself. The tabletop seemed to be made of glass or a similar material. Some sort of touch screen display John presumed. As John and Fischer walked closer to the center two things surprised him. He noticed multiple sets of cameras positioned about the area. Several of the cameras were larger in size and had some sort of armaments attached to them. Possibly plasma weaponry or regular munitions; either would have easily dispensed with a human. Then suddenly out of the corner of his eye John observed movement. He quickly looked over and saw a person walking from behind one of the large stainless steel pillars that were positioned evenly around the room. Then he saw another person, and then another. While there were not many people here, five or six maybe, it did surprise him.

As John and Fischer descended the small staircase to the center of the room John was able to determine that his first assumption about the table had been correct. It was some sort of interactive touch screen display. Fischer approached it and touched a few different places on the display and then turned to John.

"Like I said John, we have a problem." John looked at Fischer still with a cold expression on his face.

"We have your friends chip but…" Fischer's voice trailed off.

"But what?" John asked in an annoyed tone.

"We have no images of what she should look like. No way to replicate the beauty of the Cameron that you knew." Fischer paused. "We'll need a template."

"A template?" John asked. Fischer brought his hand to his chin, stroking his goatee, not immediately responding. Then his eyebrows perked up.

"Oh good you're here…" Fischer said as he looked over John's shoulder. John turned around to see a tall, muscular black male walking down the set of stairs towards them. He wore black and white urban camouflage and had a Kimber Model 1911 .45 attached to his hip via a black holster. This man was oddly familiar to John. As he approached the male spoke.

"John Connor…" He said with a certain depth to his voice. John wrinkled his forehead trying to discern exactly how he knew this person.

"It's been a long time." the man said as he walked closer to John stopping just a few feet from him.

"Do I know you?" John asked. The man smiled.

"Don't' recognize your old friend?" he asked. "I suppose it has been awhile hasn't it. I was just a boy the last time you saw me." Suddenly it hit John.

"Danny?" He said in a surprised voice. "Danny Dyson?" Danny smiled in response.

"Been a long time John."

"Danny will be assisting you with your incursion into the Resistance Base." Fischer said. John turned back around.

"My incursion into the Resistance base?" he asked.

"Yes…" Fischer responded. "Like I said before, we do not have a template for Cameron. We will need to acquire one." John continued to look at Fischer waiting for the next answer that he knew would come.

"We need to obtain this…" Fischer glanced back at the table behind him looking as if he were reading something off of the touch screen display.

"Alison Young." John stared at Fischer after he spoke her name. He was surprised that Fischer knew the connection between Alison Young and Cameron, but he quickly came to the conclusion that he must have divulged this information during his interrogation. This situation was indeed going to test the limits of how far he was willing to go for Cameron and the greater good of humanity in general before his escape back to what would have been his present.

Suddenly, John felt a slap on the top of his back as Danny rather roughly placed his hand around the back of John's neck; trying to imitate a "sincere" act of friendship, but in actuality acting more machine like than human. Danny then spoke.

"I'm going along to make sure you don't do anything…" Danny paused briefly before continuing, "…foolish." He then gave John a truly evil grin and walked away from him and over towards the command table.

"I don't understand why you want her back." A female voice said to the left of John. He immediately looked over towards the sound and saw an oddly familiar and strikingly beautiful, thin, blond female in her mid to late thirties descending the stairs, approaching the group. While John could not place her, he felt as if he knew this woman from somewhere, she seemed so recognizable while at the same time strangely enigmatic. She had hazel eyes and wore loose fitting black cargo pants that hung low on her hips secured only by a draw string. The pants were so low that the skin on her hip bones was visible along with part of her midriff. A tight, low cut, black tank top barely covered the upper portion of the woman's body and an unzipped gray jacket completed her attire. John furrowed his brown trying to figure out who this woman was. As she walked up to John she gave him a seductive smile.

"Wouldn't you prefer a real woman?" She asked as she reached out and ran her right hand down the side of John's arm. John frowned slightly and did not move.

"Jody…Enough!" Fischer said in a curt tone. Jody retracted her arm as she looked over at Fischer.

"You have work that needs to be done." Danny stated in an icy tone from across the table. Jody's eyes snapped over to Danny. Her look instantly became one of fear. Danny raised his eyebrows slightly waiting to see what Jody's response would be. She momentarily glanced towards the ground and then back over at John. She gave him another sultry smile.

"Well…You know where to find me." She said as she turned and walked away from the group.

Once Jody had left the area Fischer shook his head.

"I apologize for that John. Jody can be a bit…" Fischer hesitated, searching for the correct word to use.

"Slutty…" Danny said immediately in a harsh tone. Fischer chuckled slightly.

"Well, I was going to put it more eloquently, but yes she is a bit promiscuous…" John looked over at Danny and then back at Fischer who began to speak again.

"But as I was saying before we were interrupted. In order to reunite you and your friend we will need a template for her body so that Skynet can reconstruct both her physical look and the endoskeleton as well. A template that only Alison Young can provide."

"You want me to help Skynet kidnap Alison?" John asked a surprising lack of emotion in his voice.

"Don't worry John. No harm will come to her. After all, the better the condition she is in, the easier it will be to mirror her appearance." John gave Fischer a blank stare. He was well aware that just about everything Fischer had said or ever would say was probably a lie, that in fact everything he had been told was almost certainly false and that Skynet had some sort of master plan for everything that was occurring. But by this point, so did he. Only one statement that Fischer had ever spoken could both help him and be true at the same time. If he could somehow retrieve Cameron, if he could find a way to go back, then he could change everything, he could fix all the mistakes that had twisted this future into a futile fight against the machines where humans had no hope of success. Nothing he did here would ever matter except for one thing, he had to get Cameron back, no matter the cost to him or anyone else. John spoke,

"You don't have to reassure me. I was just asking a clarifying question." Fischer was surprised by the callousness of John's reaction.

"There is one thing though." John stated.

"What's that?" Fischer asked.

"How do I know that I can trust you about Cameron's chip? About it being safe?" Danny, who was now staring at John with eyes that appeared to be virtually lifeless and dead, produced the same hostile smile. He reached into his pocket and retrieved an object and then slowly held it out to John whose eyes immediately widened.

"Because _I_ have her chip…" Danny said in a domineering voice as he held Cameron's chip out across the table. John felt as if his heart had just jumped into his throat.

"As long as nothing happens to me, nothing will happen to her." A depraved smirk became etched across Danny's face. John clenched his jaw fighting back the urge to leap across the table to retrieve that which he desired most.

"There is no need to worry John." Fischer stated in a relaxed tone. "Your friend's chip will not be harmed in any way and you will be reunited with her again soon." John glanced back over at Fischer his eyes narrowing slightly.

"It better not be." he said. Fischer nodded his head in response and then stepped closer to the table in front of them. He touched a few different places on the glass which in turn pulled up a large satellite view of the entire area.

"But we will need the location of the resistance base, or more precisely the location of Alison Young." John hesitated for a brief moment.

_For the future..._ He thought briefly to himself, and then quickly added, ..._for you Cameron... _John moved closer to the table. He scanned the satellite images for a few seconds before finally reaching out his hand and pointing at one particular location.

"There…" He said flatly, "…That's where you'll find the base."

/

Author's Notes: Review! Review! I'm curious what people think of this "new" John Connor.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

"I'm guessing Livie didn't take the news to well?" Lauren Fields asked as she moved across the room toward Savannah, who was seated on the examination table wearing nothing but her BDU pants and high top boots. Dangling from the chain around her neck was the titanium key; it glistened slightly in the florescent lighting. Savannah responded to Lauren by shaking her head,

"No, he did not..." her head dropped and she looked down before she spoke again. "…but I can't say I blame him for reacting in the way that he did." Lauren removed a pen light from her breast pocket as she positioned herself in front of Savannah. She reached out with her free hand and carefully placed her fingertips under Savannah's chin, gently tilting her head back up.

"Look at me." She said in a soft tone. Savannah's green eyes darted upwards and met Lauren's gaze. There was a split second pause between them before Savannah was blinded by the pen light. She flinched and momentarily closed her eye before reopening it.

Lauren watched as Savannah's pupil constricted. She switched the focus of the light over to Savannah's other eye.

"Well I think your concussion is gone, hard to be completely sure without a CT scan though."

"Not that we have one of those." Savannah retorted. Lauren shrugged her shoulders as she replaced her pen light in her pocket.

"Your other wounds appear to be healing nicely as well. You should be back to 100% relatively soon." she said before briefly hesitating.  
"Well as close to 100% as anyone around here can get." Lauren's voice drifted into silence at the end of her statement.

"Good to know…" Savannah responded as Lauren awkwardly stepped back away from her and then over towards a table positioned a short distance away.

"You can get dressed now." Lauren said. Savannah nodded her head and reached over to her right and retrieved her tank top. She pulled it on over her head, flicking her hair back out of the way as she did so.

"Can I ask you something?" Lauren asked in a timid voice.

"Sure…" Savannah responded.

"Why did you let him go? He knows about this place, he could bring Skynet back here." Savannah thought for a brief moment.

"He won't." She responded in a quieter tone.

"How do you know? How can you know?" Lauren asked accusingly. Savannah sighed.

"Because of all the horrible things that will eventually happen to all of us, John is not one of them."

"You're surprisingly optimistic about him." Lauren stated as she turned towards Savannah who responded with a half hearted nod.

"I thought you didn't believe in anyone…especially men?"

"Something is…" Savannah balked, "…something is different about him." Lauren snickered slightly as she reached over the table that she was standing next to and closed a folder she had left lying on it.

"You never could make up your mind about anything." Lauren stated in an annoyed voice as she picked up the folder, then she continued,

"I guess that's why things between you and me didn't work out." Savannah gave Lauren an ever so slight look of surprise at this unexpectedly candid comment.

"We're done here…" Lauren said curtly as she quickly walked out of the room, leaving Savannah behind.

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"Just a few more days…" Derek responded, calmly looking into Alison's eyes as she stood in front of him.

"We just need a few more days to check out the new locations and make sure that Skynet is not aware of them."

"That's…that's too long." Alison replied her voice quaking with fear. Her body trembled as she stood in front of Derek. She struggled to control her emotions.

"He's coming for me…" she said, "He knows I'm here and he's coming for me." Derek reached out and touched Alison on the shoulder.

"We're not even sure that he's with Skynet. Savannah Weaver is the one that came and got him."

Tears were welling up in Alison's eyes.

"No!..." she replied, almost shrieking her response. "He needs me so that he can get that thing, that machine back." Alison's breathing was becoming more rapid as her panic continued to surge.

"Don't you see? First he killed Martin and now he'll come after me." Alison was crying now. "I won't be captured; I know what Skynet does to people." She then paused momentarily staring at Derek.

"If you won't do anything about it…" Alison was gasping for breath between words, "…then I will." Alison suddenly reached out for Derek's hip grasping the butt of his sidearm and attempting to pull it from its holster.

"Wait!" Kyle shouted leaping across the room towards Alison. Derek grabbed his weapon with both hands, blocking Alison's suicidal attempt as he jerked his body away from her. At the same time Kyle grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from his brother.

"Alison!" he shouted as he dragged her away from Derek who was still checking to be certain his weapon was still in its holster. Now choking back the tears, Alison spoke again.

"Please…" she cried, "You can't let Skynet have me." Alison slowly collapsed to the ground. Kyle knelt down behind her.

"You're gonna be alright." Derek said as he moved closer to Alison who still had terror in her eyes. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you." He said as he knelt down next to her. "I promise…" Derek carefully reached out and put his hand on Alison's shoulder, attempting to comfort her. However, this did little to calm the young woman's nerves. Her fear of the ultimate nightmare was now unshakable.

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John sat on the edge of a soft bed, his elbows were on his knees propping his body up; his face was towards the ground. He stared blankly at the sheet metal floor that lay below him. The room's lights were set to a relatively dim illumination and the temperature remained at a comfortable 72 degrees thanks to the electronic thermostat located on an adjacent wall.

John's quarters were luxurious compared to what he had experienced in the last several days. The bed was comfortable with warm sheets; there was a clean table where he could eat or work and a cozy chair for him to sit in if he chose. He was even able to adjust the temperature and light settings inside of the room. From a physical standpoint he should have been very relaxed here and even able to get some sleep. However, this had not occurred. In the past few hours John had remained motionless, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the floor, just thinking. He was aware of a unique blend of disgust, self loathing, and hatred that was consuming him, a sensation that he knew he would not soon be rid of. These feelings tore at him even though he knew what he had to do if his plan to prevent this timeline was to succeed. He was exhausted, but at the same time he was experiencing an almost nervous energy pulsating throughout his body so extreme that it made his arms quiver. No amount of training could ever have prepared him for his current situation, or for the path he was about to embark upon. John slowly tightened his fists and then relaxed them at an even pace as time drifted by.

There was a hiss as the automatic metal door to his room opened. Expecting to see Fischer or Danny, John did not react, but continued to stare at the floor. He then heard the soft tapping of bare feet walking across the metal floor towards him. John still did not move. Just then his bed shifted slightly as someone sat down next to him. He immediately turned his head to the right in order to investigate. While his facial expression did not change, John was slightly surprised to see Jody sitting down next to him. While she still had on the tight low cut black tank top that she had worn earlier, she had changed into a form fitting black skirt and was now barefoot. The material had a slight sheen to it and hugged the curves of her lower body well. John assumed that she had been afforded many "luxuries" due to her association with Skynet. She gave John a playful smile upon seeing him acknowledge her presence.

"Hello John…" she said. John made no response. Instead he only returned to staring at the floor in front of him.

"I thought it would be a good idea to check on you, to make sure you were alright." Silence encompassed the room as John did not respond. Jody spoke again.

"Are you…alright?" she asked with an almost timid voice.

"I'm fine…" John answered in a low tone. Jody gave him a curious look.

"I know this is hard for you. But you should know it's not all bad being here." Jody slowly reached out and then gently began to caress John's left shoulder. John's eyes immediately shifted over to his right, his suspicions growing.

"Skynet is not evil." She said in almost a whisper. "It helps us…" Jody slid her body closer to John as she spoke,

"…it provides for us…" John flexed his biceps as she moved nearer to him. "…it protects us…" John could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end.

"You can be happy here…" Jody said as she slowly moved her right hand across John's abdomen.

"…I can make you happy." She whispered as she leaned in closer as if she were about to kiss him. John immediately jerked his body away from her.

"Get out…" John snapped angrily. A surprised look streaked across Jody's face after his reaction. She quickly pulled her hands away from him, almost as if they had been injured.

"I just want to…" John cut Jody off.

"I said get out!" John's eyes flashed with rage as he glared back over his shoulder at her. For a brief moment Jody appeared almost paralyzed with confusion as John continued to stare her down. She nervously flicked her eyes about the room for a split second. However, it only took her a moment to regain her seductive composure. She nodded and gracefully stood from the bed. Her movements were so elegant that they were almost liquid in fashion.

"Well…if you need _anything_, just let me know." There was a sultry quality behind Jody's words as she gradually backed away from John, before turning and making her way out of his room.

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The metal door hissed behind Jody as it closed. She shivered slightly as the cold air inside of the brightly lit corridor touched her skin.

"That was fast…" A deep voice said from behind and to her left. She quickly looked over towards the sound and saw Danny behind her, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. He pushed himself away from the wall and began to approach Jody. She instinctively backed away from him and towards the opposite wall.

"What did you find out?" Danny asked still moving toward her. She unsuccessfully attempted to disguise her efforts to retreat as she tried to back subtly away from him. Jody shook her head in response.

"Not much…" she replied still slinking away, however her back was almost touching the wall of the corridor behind her,

"I don't think…" Danny immediately grasped Jody by the throat and slammed her into the metal wall, pinning her against it.

"You're not here to think…" he replied angrily, but in a quiet voice. Jody quickly grasped Danny's hand with both of hers struggling to try and free herself. She gasped for breath.

"You're here to do what WE tell you to do." Danny moved closer to Jody until his face was just inches from her while at the same time tightening his grip around her neck.

"Do you understand?" He asked hatefully. Jody's eyes widened with fear and a frightening lack of oxygen. Unable to speak, she could only nod her head in response.

"Good…" Danny added as he stared into Jody's eyes, "You brought this on yourself you know. You did after all volunteer to help me with this little operation. I hope this personal vendetta against John's _friend_ is worth it." Jody's eyelids fluttered and her eyes began to roll up into the back of her head as she began to lose consciousness. Danny abruptly pulled away and released his grip allowing Jody to drop to the ground in a crumpled heap. She coughed and gasped for breath.

"We'll try this again soon enough...you WILL do better next time." Still struggling to get a full supply of air into her lungs Jody was unable to look up at Danny, but she did shake her head in agreement and in submission. Danny gave her a disdainful look before turning and walking away. Jody lay trembling on the floor inside the cold hallway.

/

Author's Notes: Please review! I really would like to hear what people think of where I'm taking this story.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Notes: The point of no return...

CHAPTER 21

The massive explosion tore through the metal door, its frame, and part of the wall creating a large opening to the outside world. Of the two resistance soldiers that had been standing guard, one was killed instantly, while the other lay semiconscious on the ground, critically wounded. Smoke, dirt, and debris momentarily clouded the air. The majority of the civilians in the area immediately tried to flee the scene, but several remained behind. Some were too injured to move while others were simply too frightened to make an escape attempt. As the seconds crept by and the dust began to settle the remaining debris particles left in the air reflected visible light rays from the early morning sun that could now be seen through the opening in the wall. Resistance soldiers were beginning to make their way into the immediate area taking up defensive positions.

Suddenly, the high pitched roar of jet turbine engines could be heard and several HK Drones flew through the opening and into the hallways. Much smaller than their full sized Aerial HK counterparts, but otherwise identical, these drones were lightly armed, equipped with only two small plasma cannons on each wingtip and a set of small rockets that deployed from their underbelly. While any one plasma round would easily dispatch these units, their speed and maneuverability made hitting them extremely difficult.

The HK Drones streaked through the corridors spraying the entire area with plasma fire and miniaturized rockets. The hallways again filled with smoke and dust and now the smell of sulfur and burnt flesh began to linger in the air. Along with the sounds of explosions and plasma fire, cries for help, screams of pain, and dogs barking could be heard. As the Reese Faction soldiers began to return fire on the HK Drones several civilians were caught in the crossfire. None of them survived.

More and more soldiers descended on the battle location and the rate of plasma fire steadily increased. Slowly the resistance fighters began to gain ground, steadily destroying the HK Drones; even though their agility made doing so very difficult. The drones would hover momentarily, barrel roll, allow themselves to fall towards the ground, and then move to the right or left before climbing upwards again; all the while returning fire on the soldiers.

But then the next wave appeared, a multitude of T-888's poured into the base through the opening that had been created just minutes before. The sunlight to their backs made their bright chrome endoskeletons glisten. This produced a glaring effect blinding anyone that was attempting to confront them, exactly as Skynet had planned. Several more HK Drones flew in above the T-888's as they made their entry. The plasma fire inside of the hallways grew into an intense spectacle as the machines easily pushed the resistance back farther and farther into the interior of the base.

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Kyle Reese placed both hands on the table in front of him as he stared at a laptop screen.

"They're everywhere…" he said in a low voice as he looked over at Derek who did not immediately respond. He then glanced over at Alison Young who was standing next to him. She had a horrified look about her face and Derek was easily able to see that she could barely contain her emotions. Glancing back at one of the young soldiers standing behind him inside of the command room Derek spoke.

"Jenkins…" he said at which point the male responded by looking up and taking a half step forwards.

"Yes sir…" he said.

"Take Alison and get her the hell out of here." If it were possible Alison's reaction suggested that she was more afraid to leave Derek and Kyle's side then to try and escape.

"What about you two?" She finally managed to ask.

"Don't worry about us." Kyle stated. "We'll be fine." The moment Kyle said this he knew it was a lie, but he was doing his best to console Alison.

"But…" Alison was cut off by Derek.

"Alison you gotta go…now." he said as he looked back over at Jenkins who stepped a little closer to Alison.

"Ms. Young…" he said. Alison slowly backed away from Kyle, Derek, and the few remaining soldiers located inside of the command room.

"Go…" Kyle quietly mouthed to Alison before she turned away from the group and fled out of the door with Jenkins by her side.

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The plasma fire near the entrance way that the explosion had produced was beginning to subside, but the battle was still close enough that its sounds could easily be heard. Dust and smoke still hung in the air, but thanks to the sunlight, the visual spectrum had improved. Now one could easily make out the outlines of three humanoid figures walking into the resistance base.

Stepping from the crater and into the actual base corridor, John Connor slowly looked around. He lifted the dark lensed Oakley Romeo Sunglasses from his eyes and allowed the gray titanium frames to rest just in front of his radio headset which he wore overtop of his head. John was dressed in a black, white, and gray urban camouflage BDU uniform, with a black flack jacket covering it. He had no plasma rifle, but a .40 caliber Glock 22 was located in a holster on his right hip and a magazine pouch with several extra magazines was affixed to his belt on the opposite hip. John was flanked on both sides by T-888's. Surveying the area he exhibited no visible reaction to the death and carnage that he had helped to create.

"And now the real fun begins…" A voice from behind John stated. Although knowing exactly who was speaking John still glanced over his shoulder and watched as Danny Dyson walked up from behind. Dressed in a very similar fashion, save for the fact that he had a plasma rifle slung across his chest via a three point harness; he was also followed by two T-888's. Danny had a twisted smile on his face and as he turned to John he gave him a conspiratorial look.

"It's about time for your revenge, don't you think?" he asked in a maniacal tone as he moved past John; both Terminators following close behind him. John did not respond and instead remained motionless. Moments later he again saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. What appeared to be human resistance soldiers armed with plasma rifles made their way past him and into the resistance base. But, these were in fact not human at all, they were infiltrator units. With the humans focused primarily on the metal framed Terminators, the infiltrators would easily slip undetected into the interior of the base and unleash whatever chaos they saw fit. John's hate filled eyes glanced over at both T-888's on either side of him, before proceeding onward.

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Alison and Jenkins sprinted down the darkened corridor as errant plasma rounds streaked past them. The sounds of conflict were everywhere and the confusion of soldiers mixed with panic stricken civilians made the situation even worse. Most noncombatants had no idea where to go or what to do. Some blindly ran from one random location to another, while others could only huddle in corners too frightened to move. The situation made it difficult for Alison and Jenkins to navigate the hallways; however Alison was at least relatively sure that they were headed towards the nearest exit. She was however completely unsure what they should do once they had reached the surface.

The sounds of battle were growing closer and closer and Alison's panic grew as she rushed ahead of Jenkins. She found that she was becoming less and less sure of their exact location within the base and this in turn only increased her anxiety. Approaching a sharp turn in the corridor Alison was suddenly surprised by a large male with a plasma rifle emerging from around the bend. She tried to stop, but her feet slid on the loose dirt and gravel beneath her. Stumbling uncontrollably she fell backwards striking the ground with a hollow thud.

The male standing over her was dressed in what she would have considered a resistance soldier's clothing. He looked Alison over for a split second and then glanced up at Jenkins who was nearing their position. The male quickly raised his plasma rifle and fired, striking Jenkins in the chest. There was a brief cry of pain and then Alison Young's only protector fell backwards to the ground dead. Horror instantly gripped her as she realized this was no man at all, it was a Skynet Infiltrator Unit. Still on the ground she frantically scurried away from the Terminator as it reached for her. Momentarily escaping its grasp, Alison managed to pull herself to her feet and ran down an adjacent corridor in a desperate attempt to elude the Terminator.

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"Target sighted…southwest corridor." John heard the deep mechanical voice say over his radio's headset as he pressed himself against the wall, plasma bolts streaking past him. John had found that when the Terminators bothered to talk to him, it was in an information only communication, almost as if they were sending him a text message, albeit a verbal one. He looked over and saw Danny taking cover behind a support beam located on the opposite wall. Occasionally Danny leaned out from behind the beam and fired a few rounds from his plasma rifle. Although they were both still located a short distance away from the main conflict between the resistance soldiers and the T-888's they were still within striking distance. John kept his Glock 22 in his right hand and pointed towards the ground. He had yet to fire a round. He watched with icy, emotionless eyes as Danny fired his plasma rifle. Danny actually seemed to be enjoying the carnage that he was inflicting on other humans. For the moment, however this did not greatly concern John. His attention was focused solely on reaching the southwest corridor where Alison Young might be located. He slightly leaned out from behind the recess in the wall and observed the T-888's absorbed in a firefight with what was left of the resistance soldiers. He then looked over at Danny who was slowly beginning to make his way closer to the battle.

Suddenly, from an adjoining tunnel on Danny's side and from behind the group John saw a soldier emerge with a plasma rifle. The middle aged male raised his weapon and pointed it towards Danny's back. John instantly knew that a plasma round could easily make its way through both Danny's body armor and his actual body. This notion came with the horrible realization that Danny still carried Cameron's chip and it could in turn be damaged by the plasma round. Although he didn't give a damn about the bastard, he unfortunately could not let him die…at least not right now. There was no hesitation on John's part. He quickly raised his Glock, aimed, and then squeezed the trigger. As the round struck the soldier in the side, the man's body jolted, sending the round from his plasma rifle flying wildly. John immediately fired a second round hitting the soldier squarely in the chest. The man staggered back into the tunnel behind him and then fell to the ground. John quickly moved across the corridor and over to the adjoining hallway. He looked down the tunnel for a brief moment and soon realized that while this would not be the most direct route this path would still take him to the southwest corridor. Keeping his gun at the _low ready_ John carefully moved further down the tunnel.

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Danny glanced over his shoulder with just enough time to see John disappear into the connecting corridor.

"Hhmmm…What are you up to John?" Danny mused aloud as he moved away from the firefight and towards the pathway that John had taken. Glancing down the hallway Danny saw John moving further and further away. He hesitated briefly allowing the distance between them to grow and then quietly followed after him.

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After tripping over some debris located in the hallway Alison fell to the ground hard. Quickly picking herself up she began to run. The sounds of battle still echoed down the corridor, but at the same time she could hear her infiltrator pursuer. Stumbling, she again found herself sprawled on the floor. Fear gripped her as the sound of the machine grew closer. Pulling herself back up she resumed her sprint down the darkened tunnels. Alison barely noticed that there was now no one in the immediate area around her, civilian or soldiers alike. She rounded a corner and came upon a large metal exit only door. She began to struggle with the metal latch fighting desperately to open the door. She shrieked as she fought with the lock; the infiltrator was nearly at her position. Finally the latch released and the door swung open with a loud creak. A rush of fresh air poured into the hallway blowing Alison's brown hair back and away from her face. Frantically she than ran into the early morning sunlight.

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John moved purposefully down the dim hallway. With each rumble from a nearby explosion the incandescent bulbs flickered and some dust would be shaken from the ceiling. While nothing was happening in the area around him, the sounds of plasma rifle fire, explosions, screams of pain, and cries for help echoed down the concrete corridor towards him. John showed no emotional response to any of it. He simply could not allow himself to feel anything, at least not for the moment, if he were to do that, he would surely go mad from guilt. There was no alternative. He had to allow his soul to absorb the cold nothingness that led him to reach this very point.

Suddenly, from around the corner in front of him an HK Drone emerged. John froze, staring at the hovering creature. The drone did not immediately react to him. It remained in its current position, almost as if it were studying John for a brief moment. Then both of its small jet turbine engines leaned forwards and it streaked over John's head moving in the opposite direction. By this point John assumed that Skynet Units had overrun every section of the Reese base. He knew there was almost no hope of survival for anyone. John felt a brief, fleeting twinge of regret, but he instantly pushed this feeling aside. Only anger would serve him now. He dare not permit himself to feel anything else. He pressed further down his path.

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As Alison emerged from the underground tunnel she stumbled over the rocky terrain. Still attempting to elude the infiltrator that was following her she climbed unsteadily up the debris covered embankment. When she finally reached the top of the small hill what she saw nearly stripped her of all hope of escape; machines were everywhere. Hundreds if not thousands of T-888's walked about the debris strewn city landscape, Aerial HK's hovered overhead along with their small drone counterparts, large Ground HK's moved ever closer, and what she assumed were infiltrator units appeared to be scattered about the scene as well. Knowing she had no other choice Alison forced herself to move forwards towards a small set of dilapidated buildings located approximately thirty-five yards from her. She clung to a forlorn hope that if she could reach those buildings she might just be able to hide from the deadly threats that surrounded her.

Staggering down the embankment Alison ran towards the buildings. She was surprised to find that it appeared the infiltrator was no longer behind her. For some strange reason this seemed to frighten her even more. Why had it given up? Moving closer to the buildings Alison experienced some sense of relief and began to once again believe that she might escape. Suddenly, her foot struck a rock and she fell to the ground again. She struck the earth with such force that it momentarily knocked the wind out of her. However, her prolonged contact with the ground allowed Alison to feel an impact vibration travel up from the ground and through her body. The vibration was not constant but came in the fashion similar to footsteps…heavy, heavy footsteps. Still on the ground Alison looked up at the small set of buildings that she had been trying to reach. What she saw terrified her.

Emerging from behind the buildings was a massive Skynet Centurion HK; the colossal four legged machine which was at least fifty feet high crashed through a corner of one of the buildings as it slowly exposed its entire body. Concrete and debris tumbled to the ground as it moved. The Centurion HK had four crablike legs, two positioned in the front of its body and two in the back. The center chassis had an appearance similar to an Aerial HK, except with no tail section. Two large metallic arms protruded away from the center body itself and each arm contained a rapid pulse phased plasma cannon along with another set of smaller plasma guns. The entire center torso could rotate 360 degrees so that it could walk or fire its weapons in relatively any direction. The look of the center chassis of the machine could have easily been mistaken for a demonic looking "face". Red glowing "eyes" now focused on Alison.

There was the sudden rush of air around Alison and the loud howl of a jet engine. An Aerial HK sudden moved in over her. Dirt and dust swirled around her position as she cowered in terror on the rocky ground.

_No!..._ She thought to herself. As Alison tried to stand there was a loud bang and she was struck by a large net that knocked her back to the ground. She looked around and saw the Infiltrator that had been following her along. It emerged with several other T-888's from over the hill that she had just run down. Now crying as she hopelessly struggled against the net, Alison screamed in fear as the machines began to approach her.

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John moved slowly along the wreckage strewn corridors. The sounds of plasma rifle fire and screams were fading. John assumed that few humans were left alive at this point. Making his way to a doorway he was certain that if any room was still occupied by the resistance it would be this one. It was the door to the command center, and in order to reach Alison's location John was going to have to cut through it. He slowly pushed the door open with one hand and led the way in with his handgun. The only light in the area was from a few remaining light bulbs and the sparking flying from electrical lines that had been severed by explosions. Small fires caused by plasma fire also provided a minimal amount of light. He expected devastation, but what John managed to see as he entered the room still shocked him.

Several soldiers' bodies, command staff presumably, lay motionless on the floor. However, this was not what surprised him. Located across the room were Derek and Kyle Reese. Derek lay on the ground, lifeless with a large wound in his chest. Kyle was crouched over his body. Upon hearing the sound of the door open Kyle quickly stood up and turned around, looking at John with red, bloodshot eyes.

"You!" Kyle said angrily. John already had his Glock 22 pointed directly at Kyle not allowing him the opportunity to reach for his own weapon. Both men stared at each other, fury and hatred pouring over each of them. Images of his torture and thoughts of his mother's death at the hands of the resistance flooded John's mind. He ground his teeth as the bitterness took hold of him.

"That's right…" John responded in a low voice still continuing to point his weapon, "…it's me." Kyle glared at John's face, which was still bruised from their encounter just days before.

"I always knew you were a traitor." Kyle said with obvious disgust in his voice,

"I wasn't before I met you." John immediately stated. Silence momentarily crept into the room. The only sound was the crackle of electricity as it arched from the broken circuitry and the distant sounds of plasma fire mixed with the occasional rumble of an explosion. Kyle spoke again breaking the deathly quiet of the room,

"You killed my brother." He said. John swallowed before speaking,

"You killed my mother." This produced a slight look of confusion on Kyle's face before an uneasy stillness again encompassed the room. John found his arms were beginning to ache as he held his handgun out in front of him. Kyle took a step closer to John,

"If you're going kill me, you might as well do it." John stared at his father, pure rage and hatred rushing over him as if he were on fire. His finger moved to the trigger of his gun touching it lightly. Kyle stared at John waiting for a response, when he received none he took another half step closer to John.

"DO IT!" he shouted. John's breathing and heart rate skyrocketed as he increased the pressure on the trigger. His hand was beginning to quiver and he narrowed his eyes which were now filling with tears in an attempt to focus his field of vision. The trigger to the Glock moved backwards as John increased the pressure on it.

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Danny carefully moved along the hallway towards the door to the room he had seen John enter. He cautiously made his way along the wall as he crept closer to the doorway. Suddenly, he heard someone shout. His pace increased slightly until he finally reached the door. Peering around the corner Danny saw John inside of the room, his gun pointed at a resistance soldier that he did not immediately recognize. He watched suspiciously as the seconds passed by and then he observed John slowly lower his weapon. Danny furrowed his brown in disapproval as John moved around the room still maintaining eye contact with the resistance soldier. John then moved through another doorway disappearing from Danny's sight. The remaining resistance soldier stood silently for a moment and then turned away and knelt down next to the body of another man. Danny shook his head sneering at the image of grief.

_I knew he didn't have it in him._ He thought to himself. Danny waited for a brief moment and then quietly stepped into the room. He raised his plasma rifle aiming it at the back of the soldier who was still kneeling over the body of his fallen comrade.

Danny squeezed the trigger of his plasma rifle and a round discharged striking Kyle Reese in the back of the head. Death was instantaneous; Kyle was knocked forwards and then fell dead over Derek's lifeless body. Danny heard a light "ping" as his spent shell casing struck the concrete floor. The room was quiet again and he systematically looked around ensuring there were no more survivors. After seeing that there were none, Danny hurried over towards the open doorway where John had previously made his exit. He briefly glanced back at the command center. A satisfied smirk made its way across Danny's face as he realized that this particular faction had been completely decimated. Its leaders were dead, most if not all of its soldiers had been killed, and the few remaining civilians were now being rounded up by Skynet. Still showing his contemptuous smile Danny turned back towards the door and resumed his trek after John.

/././

Author's Notes: I'm hoping you are all as surprised about this chapter as my beta reader was. Review! Review!


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

The engines of the Skynet Aerial Transport roared to life and the thrust from its jet engines blew dirt and debris into the air forming a plume of dust around the aircraft. The transport somewhat resembled its Aerial HK counterpart, except for the fact that it was much larger. Slowly it took flight. As it rose into the crisp morning air it gradually began to make a large sweeping circle around what had once been the resistance base.

John Connor stood quiet and stone faced staring out the aircraft's window. Unconscious and chained to a cot next to him lay Alison Young. As the rumble and vibration from the engines shook the interior of the ship she quietly moaned, stirring every so slightly from her drugged stupor. Without moving his head, John flicked his eyes over to look at her. While she had fought valiantly at first, after being forcefully drugged by Danny, Alison had not been able to put up much of a fight. A few seconds of reflection passed before John's gaze returned to the events still unfolding beneath him. The last forlorn remnants of the Reese Faction were being dispatched by Skynet forces. John stared down as plasma fire was exchanged between the now completely overwhelming machine army and the few remaining soldiers still fighting hopelessly. John assumed most of the humans would be killed; although some might be brought back as prisoners. It would be better if they died.

Alison again moaned softly, however this time John did not notice. His eyes were affixed on what was occurring below them. There was no visible emotion at all on his face; nevertheless John continued to stare out the window of the aircraft at the closing moments of the conflict. The Centurion HK was now making its way across the battle field, completely overpowering the remaining Reese Faction members.

John was experiencing a peculiar tunnel vision. He could see nothing else around him. He saw only the last few desperate moments of the invasion that was still occurring. He did not move, but a few muscles along his brow twitched slightly as his cold facial expression remained. Then suddenly, from his right eye, a tear slowly ran down his cheek. At first he did not notice it, but when he did realize its presence the tear startled John. He cautiously reached up with his hand and brushed it away from his face. This instinctive reaction broke his gaze away from the events that were playing out far below the transport.

After wiping the tear away from his cheek with his right hand John found himself staring at the liquid that was now on his fingertips. His eyes widened and his facial expression changed to one that could only be described as a combination of fear and despair. Slowly closing his hand into a fist he moved it away from his field of vision. He took a deep breath and looked back out the window of the aerial transport. The location of the battle was now almost too far away for him to see. However, he was still able to make out the last brightly colored streaks of plasma rifle fire. John watched as the battlefield fell further and further away until he could no longer view it. Once it was completely out of sight John took another slow deep breath and made his way closer to Alison who remained unconscious. Slowly reaching out with his hand, John moved to within inches of touching her cheek, but just before he could make contact Alison quietly moaned and shifted her body's position. John's hand immediately froze. Another look of sorrow crept its way back into John's eyes as he gazed upon her. Seconds drifted by and still he stared at Alison. Struggling to keep his silence, but unable to do so John finally spoke,

"I'm sorry…" He whispered in a barely audible tone. He remained motionless in his position over Alison for another few moments until he was finally able to break himself from his trance. Taking a half step away from her and withdrawing his hand, John gradually moved back over to the window and resumed staring out of it with a vacant, hollow look in his eyes.

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"There's nothing left…" Sergeant Spears stated in a solemn voice as he leaned back in his chair and away from the circular table that was located inside the relatively well lit command room.

"Nothing?…" Master Sergeant Wilder asked in a somewhat shocked voice. Matthew Spears nodded his head.

"The entire base…it's been completely wiped out, I couldn't find any survivors." Spears paused momentarily as he glanced over at Savannah whose eyes immediately flicked away from everyone and down towards the large table that was in front of her.

"Skynet has probably captured whoever survived. God only knows what will be done to them." Captain Livie said. He rubbed his eyes momentarily before looking back over at Savannah who now appeared to be taking the brunt of all the hostile stares in the room.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Sergeant Parker immediately stated with an accusatory tone directed at Savannah.

"We don't know that John was responsible for this." Savannah immediately responded as she looked back up defiantly.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Lieutenant Cardoza quickly asked. His tone was less harsh than Parker's, but still that of an inquisitor.

"John is not here to hurt us." Savannah stated.

"Then why would he lead Skynet straight to the Reese Faction." Quickly running out of explanations and excuses Savannah's thoughts whirled through her head. She offered the only reasonable answer she could think of.

"I told you, they have his friend. He's desperate to save her."

"That's one hell of a friend…" Parker replied arrogantly, "…I don't know that I'd screw over an entire faction just because of a friend." Savannah shot Parker a disdainful look.

"That's probably because you never understood what a true friendship consisted of." A look of anger immediately streaked across Parker's face as he rose from his chair preparing to argue.

"Enough…" Livie said in an aggravated voice, quickly putting a stop to the confrontation. "This situation is quickly spiraling out of control. Connor not only knew the location of the Reese Faction, but he knows our location as well." A few sets of eyes again glared at Savannah. This time, however she did not recoil away from them.

"He's not going to turn on us." Savannah stated.

"How do you know?" Livie asked. Savannah shifted nervously in her seat.

"The Reese faction tortured him, they all but killed him."

"So he just wanted revenge then?" Master Sergeant Wilder asked. Savannah hesitated; she knew full well that she could not tell the group the entire truth revolving around both Alison and Cameron.

"I…I don't think so." Savannah finally responded.

"Then why?" Wilder probed further.

"I'm not sure. Maybe he'll try to make contact with me eventually."

"No…" Livie quickly stated. "If he makes contact with you, you are to come to me immediately. Do you understand?" Savannah momentarily paused before finally nodding her head in acquiescence.

"We need to make a decision on whether or not we're going to stay here." Cardoza said. "The infrastructure we've established is not going to be an easy one to replace."

"Agreed…" Livie stated, and then added, "It needs to be put to a vote." A few more sets of heads nodded as the room once again fell silent.

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John's face lacked all expression on it as he walked through the brilliantly lit hallway of the Skynet base. The air was cool and there was little to no sound save for the humming of air conditioning fans. Every so often a clicking sound of metal against metal would be heard as a machine walked past him. Usually it was a T-888 or sometimes it was a much smaller four legged repair robot. These repair bots were only about three feet tall; they had a small camera for a head and two flexible arms that had three fingered hands attached to them. John had for some reason nicknamed them "doozers". He had noted that they seemed almost fearful in nature as they scurried about doing menial tasks. Whenever he or anyone else was around the doozers "appeared" to shy away. If John had cared he may have taken more of an interest into this unique behavior, but he disregarded it as a programming anomaly. John's expression was so cold, so devoid of interest he could have easily been mistaken for an infiltrator, except for the fact that his face was still bruised and his left arm still bandaged from where Kyle had cut him.

John wandered through the hallways not exactly sure of his final destination, although he knew he was headed in the general direction of his quarters…albeit in a roundabout way.

"John…" A voice called out from behind him. He ignored it and continued on. A few seconds later he heard it a second time.

"John…" The voice said again. He sighed already having recognized the female's voice. John stopped walking, but he did not turn around.

Jody sidled up to him. He immediately noticed that she had changed clothes again. John was somewhat surprised by the seemingly extensive wardrobe that she appeared to have been provided. This must have been one of the "perks" of being a traitor. Jody was more modestly dressed now, although she still exuded an aura of sexuality. She wore boots, snug black BDU pants, a tight fitting yet less revealing brown tank top and a blue BDU jacket.

"I'm glad I caught you." She said as she stepped around in front of him. "I wanted to see if you were okay?" John gave no visible reaction, but found himself perplexed by the question. Jody then glanced downward, almost as if she were ashamed.

"Plus, I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior." John reaction was subtle, but his facial muscles did twitch slightly. He still did not respond verbally though. Immediately noticing the reaction Jody continued.

"Things here are…" Jody paused, thinking for a brief moment, "…different." She said, then added, "Sometimes I assume too much and forget that there is a completely different outlook on certain situations than what I've grown accustomed to." John still gave no response, but continued to listen.

"I was only trying to make a difficult transition easier for you. To…" Jody stuttered slightly, "…to try and take your mind off of things. Obviously, I took it a bit too far and for that I apologize." Jody looked up at John with her soft hazel eyes, coyly awaiting a response. John slowly nodded his head, still giving no verbal response, but allowing his facial expression to soften every so slightly. Jody responded with half smile,

"Well I have work to attend to, but if you need a friend I'll be around…" Jody moved out of John's way; he however did not immediately move, instead he gazed at Jody for a brief moment. John found that an odd sense of morbid curiosity came over him about Jody and her situation. She had a certain warped uniqueness about her, one that he had never encountered before. She was indeed an enigma to him. After a few moments of examination John looked away and proceeded onwards down the hall.

Jody watched as John walked away from her. She maintained the same soft look about her face until he rounded a bend in the hallway and disappeared from her field of vision. Then instantly her sly smile and the seductive look in her eyes returned. Jody was happy to see how well she was able to follow Fischer's training for this type of situation. Upon her first encounter with John, Jody had done what she normally did when trying to elicit information. She had relied on pure sexuality to entice him. It had worked numerous times for her in the past, whether overtly or more subtly Jody had found it was relatively easy to entice people into doing whatever she wanted them to do. Whether it was by playing the damsel in distress or the sultry vixen most males and many females for that matter seemed to respond instantly to either scenario. But, John was different; Jody now understood that she was going to have to try something much more refined, more crafty with him. Jody turned and walked in the opposite direction, all the while maintaining a devilish smile on her face.

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Danny Dyson walked into the large, brightly lit room. The stainless steel walls only intensified the light and he noted that the temperature was so cold his breath was visible when he exhaled. A large display was at the front of the room. Images flashed across it so quickly that he was unable to determine exactly what they were. The quiet drone of air conditioning fans was for the moment the only sound that he could hear.

"SPEAK!" A dark voice said loudly. The sound came from everywhere and nowhere. He looked around briefly before responding.

"It was as I suspected, I do not believe Connor will ever be completely dedicated to us." There was a momentary pause as an image of John quickly flashed on the display in front of Danny.

"EXPLAIN…" The voice asked.

"Connor had an opportunity to kill a resistance soldier…he did not take it."

"WHO?"

"I'm not sure." Danny said in a somewhat confused voice. "I believe it may have been someone of ranking importance though."

"UNFORTUNATE…"

"Yes it is…" Danny replied. "If you would like I can terminate him."

"NEGATIVE…" The voice immediately shot back. This produced a slightly confused look about Danny's face.

"INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE HAS BEEN PRESENTED AT THIS POINT TO WARRANT A TERMINATION." There was a momentary pause before the voice continued,

"A BROKEN AND DEFEATED JOHN CONNOR WILL BE OF MORE USE TO US THAN A TERMINATED ONE." Danny's facial expression changed to one of disappointment upon hearing this, but he didn't even consider arguing.

"OTHER SCENARIOS STILL NEED TO BE EXPLORED." There was another brief pause before the voice spoke again.

"THE CHIP?" The voice asked as a schematic of a Terminator's chip displayed on the screen at the front of the room.

"We still have it..." Danny said, but then continued, "…and we have _altered_ it as you have instructed."

"EXCELLENT…" Danny's eyes narrowed slightly and an evil smiled formed on his face.

"I believe it will be most effective when the time comes." Suddenly an image of Cameron burst onto the screen in front of Danny. His depraved smile only increased upon seeing this.

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The metal door slid open with a hiss and a few moments later Charles Fischer stepped through the doorway and into the hall.

"Find out anything interesting?" Jody asked as she looked up at Fischer who shook his head in response.

"She's tougher than she looks, but I think this situation needs a more…" Fischer paused momentarily as he reached out and caressed the side of Jody's face with the back of his hand.

"…feminine touch." Jody responded with a wildly erotic smile. Fischer then motioned with his head towards the doorway and she quickly slipped past him and into the room. The door closed behind her with another hiss.

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The room itself was octagonal in shape with various work stations scattered about it. Some of the tables had computers on them while others contained medical utensils or cases of vials with some form of "medication" in them. The room was well illuminated and at its center were two metal tables with examination lights over them. One of the tables was empty while the other held a young female wearing just an examination gown. She was held securely in place by metal restraints located above her head and at her ankles so that she was outstretched and could not move. Jody gracefully walked over to the table and the terrified female that lay helpless on it. When she reached it Jody looked down on the pretty young girl and produced a twisted smile.

"Hello Alison…" she said, "My name is Jody…and I'm so happy I finally get to meet you."

/././

Author's Notes: Review! Review! Review!


	23. Chapter 23

Authors Notes: Reader discretion is advised.

CHAPTER 23

"As I am sure that you have your doubts I would like to reassure you that Ms. Young is being treated with the utmost care." Charles Fischer stated as he and John walked down a chilly, brightly lit hallway inside of the Skynet base. John glanced over at Fischer feeling his suspicion and resentment grow stronger with every word. But for now his doubts were pointless. These ghastly events were necessary if he were to have any hope of returning to the present so as to ensure events such as these would never again occur.

_Everyone here is already dead..._ John thought to himself as the brutal images of what might actually be happening to Alison weighed heavily on his heart. John ground his teeth fighting the urge to lash out violently at Fischer, who immediately looked back over at him,

"Trust me John…" A chill went up John's spine when Fischer uttered these words and John's hatred for him only increased.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they walked through the winding corridors. Fischer took a breath as if intending to speak and then hesitated. He then looked at John with an oddly crooked smile.

"I think it's better for you to see where we are going then for me to tell you." John remained doubtful of Fischer's statements, but followed him nevertheless.

John was puzzled by the limited amount of traffic that was moving inside of the base's hallways. Occasionally, he and Fischer would pass a T-888, a doozer, or on a few rare occasions another Grey. As they traveled deeper into the complex John became more and more uneasy about where he was being led. Twisting and turning through the winding corridors John was beginning to lose all sense of his bearings. Finally, Fischer stopped at a large set of steel double doors located to the side of one of the hallways. He stepped forwards and after a momentary delay there was an audible beep and John heard a loud hiss as both sets of doors parted before them. Fischer gestured forwards with his hand.

"Right this way." He said. John glanced over at the older man with a skeptical look in his eyes. Then with a resigned shrug he walked through the doorway.

The room itself was gargantuan, with ceilings that were at least thirty feet high and more than 200 feet of open space in front of them. The enclosure itself resembled some sort of massive factory or hanger bay. As he looked around John could see two large sets of glass tubes that extended from the floor to the ceiling in the center of the room. They contained a bluish liquid that slowly flowed through them. The tubes were lit from within, and this bizarre illumination caused an unearthly blue glow in the area immediately surrounding the tubes. This light however did little to brighten the large space that was this room. Towards the back were massive pieces of industrial equipment. Large pistons and gears could be seen extruding from within other types of equipment. John had absolutely no idea what they would be used for. The more he visually searched the area with his eyes the more he found it to be very poorly lit. Except for some ambient lighting around the factory there was almost no illumination. In that shadowy atmosphere John was only able to make out large details about the contents of the facility. Then he heard footsteps as Fischer walked up beside him.

"You wanna tell me where we are?" he asked Fischer.

"Like I said John, it's better for you to see for yourself." Instantly there was a loud pop as two sets of spotlights instantly beamed a blinding light down onto the exact center of the room. Instinctively, John squinted his eyes and raised his hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the blinding light. Glancing back over at Fischer, John saw him produce a crafty grin. As his eyes began to adjust to the light John lowered his hand. With all the stainless steel that was now glistening in the light John was still unable to make out any sort of solid image. Another few moments passed before his eyes were at last able to focus and John was finally able to make out what occupied the center of the room. In that moment of stark realization John felt as if his heart had stopped.

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"I don't understand why she gets a say in any of this." Sergeant Parker growled as he paced back and forth in the hallway.

"Livie thinks Bedell would have wanted it this way." Matthew Spears responded as he leaned up against the corridor wall and watched as Parker walked back and forth past him.

"Why? Because he gave her that fuck'n key? We don't even know exactly what happened out there that night. All we've got is her word and a bunch of dead soldiers."

"I doubt she could have physically taken the key from Bedell." Spears said. He made a mental note that Parker's constant to and fro movement was becoming annoying, and so was Parker for that matter.

"Well I know that…" Parker snapped back in an irritated voice. "But, how do we know that he didn't tell her to give it to someone else. Or worse yet, Colonel Bedell may have already been dead when she took it from him."

"Savannah's been with us for awhile." Spears stated, "Bedell and Livie have both trusted her for quite some time. She may be many…" Spears's eyes darted to the left as if he were searching for the correct words to use, after an extended pause he continued "…she may be many..._many_ _things_, but a liar she is not."

"I think we've all got a pretty good idea of why Livie and Bedell have kept her around for so long…" Parker responded with a snide leering expression. Spears shrugged his shoulders.

"Even if your _incredibly subtle_ suggestion were right, she has proven herself worthy many times before. And it wasn't just her vote that decided that we were going to be staying here; at least for a short while longer." Spears continued, "Wilder only agreed to stay here so long as research into another location would begin."

"This is foolish…" Parker immediately shot back, "…we are placing our lives in the hands of a woman who as far as I can tell is a psychological wreck and her "friend" who may or may not be a Grey and who basically appeared out of nowhere with no good explanation." Parker snorted, "She's damaged goods in every way shape and form.

"Well there is the time travel explanation…" Spears added.

"You don't honestly believe in that crap do you?" Spears turned away and looked towards the ground as Parker continued to speak.

"She's been there when too many men have lost their lives…And she's going to do it again." There was a moment of hesitation before Jonathan Parker continued,

"Death seems to follow that girl everywhere she goes. Anyone who she allows to get even the slightest bit close to her seems to quickly meet their end, while she miraculously always manages to live; her parents, her _friend_ that helped to raise her, any number of her other male _acquaintances_, and now Bedell. And let's not forget her time with Skynet and her _involvemen_t with _Danny Dyson_." The mention of Danny's name brought noticeable disgust into Parker's tone.

"I'm not sure if she had much of a choice when it came to her interactions with Dyson." Spears retorted.

"From what I've been told she didn't do much resisting either." Parker stopped his pacing briefly to look at Sergeant Spears.

"I'm telling you Matthew, that girl is cursed and so long as she is here with us we are all in danger. Savannah Weaver will bring death upon us all."

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The metal door opened with a pronounced hiss and moments later Jody walked through it. As she exited the room she pulled the remaining bloody latex glove from her hand and tossed them both contemptuously onto the steel floor. Through the open door one could easily hear Alison Young whimpering in pain and crying in hopeless despair. The sound was cut off as soon as the door closed back behind Jody. A few seconds later the clicking sound of a doozer's legs could be heard as it scurried by picking up the discarded gloves.

"Did she tell you anything?" Danny Dyson asked as he moved in beside Jody. As usual she was somewhat alarmed by his arrival and reflexively took a half step away from him.

"Not much…" she said in response. Danny took another step towards her, a displeased look on his face.

"But I did manage to get some information from her." Jody fearfully stated in an attempt to deflect Danny's anger before he could get any closer to her. Momentarily placated, he gave Jody a curious look.

"She's not a soldier, at least not as far as I can tell. I think she has something to do with the resistance's intelligence division. She seems to have a pretty good working knowledge of computers. Maybe they were preening her to assist with some sort of cyber attack on Skynet." Jody immediately knew that she was jumping to several conclusions by telling Danny this, but her anxiety about the consequences of telling him anything less pushed her to this point. Danny nodded his head.

"Good enough..." He said, "…for now." Jody took a casual step away from Danny, hoping to make a subtle retreat.

"And how are things going with John?" Danny then asked. Jody fearfully nodded her head.

"I think I'm making progress." She responded.

"You think?" Danny asked the anger beginning to creep back into his voice.

"He's…he's different." Jody said quickly. "I'm going to have to try a different approach with him. It may take a little longer though." Danny raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean longer?" Jody chuckled nervously about her response. This garnered a harsh look from Danny that immediately cleared the smile from her face.

"He seems to be a bit more…" Jody paused momentarily so as to try and think of the appropriate words to use to describe John,

"…complex than most of the other subjects you've instructed me to _encounter_. Simply finding me naked in his bed is not going to work, nor will seducing him…at least not overtly." Danny gave Jody a disbelieving look.

"It seems he really did care for that machine…a lot. John's very…" Jody's facial features softened slightly almost as if she were recalling a fond memory,

"…different." Her voice took on a more affectionate tone. Danny instantly shot her a suspicious look. He had seen the noticeable change in her behavior when she spoke of John and it did not please him. Observing the change in Danny's body language Jody immediately responded with her sexiest smile trying desperately to conceal her true display of emotion.

"Don't worry…" she said seductively, "…just give me a little more time and I'll have him." There was a pause and then Jody spoke again.

"But, don't you think we should make Fischer aware of all this?" she asked. Danny quickly moved towards her with an infuriated look on his face and Jody immediately stepped back and visibly flinched as she prepared to be struck.

"Are you questioning me?" Danny asked in a low angry voice. Jody face was now turned towards the ground steeling herself for the crack of his hand on her cheek.

"No…" She replied in a timid voice. Danny took another step closer to Jody who was still cowering.

"You are not to tell him or anyone else anything about this. Do you understand?" Jody quickly nodded her head in a docile manner. Danny eased back away.

"And just so you know, your job is about to get a lot harder."

"What do you mean?" Jody asked just barely glancing upwards. Danny reached out and placing his fingers under Jody's chin, lifting her head.

"Why do you think?" he asked. Jody's eyes widened.

"They're…they're bringing it back?" she asked with extreme apprehension in her voice. Danny nodded his head in response.

"But…but this is too soon. If she sees me…" Danny cut Jody off.

"We'll just have to make sure she doesn't see you." He said as he began to caress the side of Jody's cheek with his thumb. This produced an eerie sensation within her. He then moved in close to Jody and whispered in her ear.

"Just do what I've told you to do…The rest you can leave to me. Do you understand?" Jody again nodded her head as Danny moved his face slightly away from the side of hers. He then looked greedily at Jody and moved back in, pressing his lips against hers. She did not struggle or resist in even the tiniest way, she merely submitted to his overpowering will. After several seconds of kissing, of his lips possessing her, Jody began to moan quietly. Finally, Danny pulled back and ran his hand down from her neck to her chest. Then he slowly and dismissively pushed her back away from him, Jody let out a brief gasp of sexual frustration when he did this.

"Now go back in there and finish your job." Danny said in a cryptic voice as he pointed back towards the interrogation room behind Jody. She again nodded her head. Danny then turned away and walked back down the corridor leaving Jody standing quiet and alone. As the seconds passed she tightened her teeth into a snarl. With a twisted and angry look in her eyes she glanced over her shoulder at the door behind her. Jody quickly spun on her heels and moved back towards the entrance to the interrogation room which lay behind her.

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John slowly edged forwards towards the center of the room, his eyes about as wide as they could possibly be.

"Is…is that…" John could not finish his sentence.

"It's okay John." Fischer said with a small, yet still unmistakably evil smile. "It's real…" John walked closer and closer towards the center of the room. His mouth hung slightly open, his body was shaking, and he felt as if his knees were about to buckle. As he continued onwards his speed increased until he was in a flat out sprint. When he finally reached the center of the room he came to a dead stop and froze. He squinted his eyes as the two spotlights shown down from above him. A few seconds passed before Fischer walked up beside side him.

"Is that?..."

"Yes…" Fischer responded.

"Cameron…" John whispered his voice barely audible.

Lying naked on a stainless steel table in front of John was a perfect copy of Cameron's body. John's breath was shaking as he looked upon it. He then quickly looked back over at Fischer.

"Her chip?" John asked his voice quaking. Fischer nodded his head and reached into his pocket gradually retrieving an object. Slowly holding out his hand Fischer opened his fingers revealing Cameron's chip.

"I thought it only right after all that you two have been through to allow you the opportunity to activate her." With his hand still trembling John reached out and retrieved Cameron's chip. He then turned back to face the table preparing to move forwards.

John slowly slid back the skin on Cameron's scalp, revealing her chip port cover. Using the screwdriver that Fischer had provided to him, he carefully opened the port. John's hand with Cameron's chip continued to shake as it grew closer and closer to the chip port opening. Sliding it into place John then turned the chip and heard a click as it locked into place; he then quickly resecured the chip port cover. Carefully smoothing out Cameron's scalp and hair John then moved just a few inches back away from her as he leaned over Cameron waiting for what would come next. The room became deathly quiet as he waited. John felt a choking tension so strong that he had actually stopped breathing.

Suddenly, Cameron's body twitched. This quick movement startled John and he took a sudden gasp of breath and nearly jumped back, but after quickly regaining his composure, he returned to his position over Cameron. His hands instinctively moved up along the sides of Cameron's face as he continued to wait anxiously. Another few excruciatingly slow moments drifted by before Cameron's body moved again. The pace of John's breathing was growing rapidly and he remained locked in his position above Cameron, his face just inches from hers. With fear in his eyes he stared down upon her. Slowly, Cameron's beautiful brown eyes began to open; her pupils immediately constricted from the bright light that was above her. Once fully open Cameron's eyes briefly darted about the area around her before her gaze at last met with John's. They both remained perfectly still, staring silently at each other for several more seconds. John was so absorbed in Cameron's eyes that he did not even notice that he had unconsciously continued to gently caress both sides of her face where his hands were located. The two remained locked in this position for what seemed to be both an instant and an eternity for John. At last Cameron spoke,

"John…" She whispered quietly.

...

...

Authors Notes: So this was the moment I think many people were waiting for (Cameron's return), though it is now mixed with the bitter reality of what is happening with Alison. Review! Review!


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

John did not immediately respond. He remained locked in his original position, silently bent over Cameron still staring into her brown eyes. He was utterly unaware that he was delicately caressing the side of Cameron's face with his fingertips. Complete shock had overtaken him. He had yet to even notice that Cameron was patiently awaiting his response. She slowly blinked her eyes.

"John…" She again whispered. There was another moment of silence before she spoke again. "Are you alright?" She asked immediately having noticed the bruising on John's face from his prior torture inflicted at the hands of his father and uncle.

"Are…are you real?" John asked not able to mask the fear in his voice. Cameron's face remained nearly impassive, but it had begun to soften ever so slightly.

"Yes…" She replied as John's fingers continued to stroke her soft skin as he stared into her eyes.

"Is this a dream?" He then asked his eyes still searching for further confirmation. Cameron ever so slightly shook her head.

"No…" She responded her voice still peaceful.

"I thought I'd lost you…" John said at last noticing that he was touching her; he however did not recoil as he had done so many other times in the past. He slowly cupped his hand around her cheek, caressing Cameron's face as she gazed into his eyes. The tender moment was fleeting however.

Suddenly, Cameron's eyes darted away from John's and she began to quickly look around.

"This is not my body." She said in an almost perplexed tone. In that moment John experienced something completely unexpected; he felt an extreme sense of anxiety flood over him. He realized that he had been so obsessed and yet so doubtful of regaining Cameron that he had completely disregarded any thoughts of what he may tell her if they were finally reunited. John's mouth hung open and he did not respond. As Cameron began to take in her surroundings she spoke again.

"John…" She said, "...where are we?" She quickly sat up forcing John to move away from her and then began to look around the massive room which surrounded them. While her look was subtle it did reflect an aura of concern. After another moment or so Cameron's eyes again met with John's whose facial expression still exhibited an unmistakable anxiety. John's greatest fear now was that Cameron's lack of knowledge about their current situation or what he was attempting to do might somehow endanger her.

"We are in a Skynet base." She said flatly. John nodded his head and looked at Cameron with pleading eyes, begging her not to try and explore the reasons any further.

Before he could say anything or try to signal Cameron, Fischer emerged from the darkness behind John; this instantly drew her attention.

"That is correct Cameron." He said his voice almost as cold as a machine's. "I think I speak on behalf of Skynet when I say…It's good to finally have you back." Fischer's eyes appeared to be dead and lifeless and they stared into Cameron's. There was a clanking sound as two sets of burning crimson eyes suddenly appeared behind him and moments later two T-888's came into the light. Cameron quickly looked over at John whose eyes widened slightly desperately trying to signal Cameron not to push her inquiries any further.

"John…" She said breaking the silence, "…what have you done?"

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Alison's world was spinning, she held her eyes shut because every time she opened them the nausea and dizziness nearly overpowered here. Sounds and voices directed at her seemed to come from distant echoes. The shackles that held her feet to the table and her hands above her head were no longer necessary. She was so weak and disoriented she could not have attempted escape even if those cruel restraints had been removed. Her broken and abused body ached, and she longed for a final resolution to the horror that she was now experiencing.

"So where were we?" Jody asked as she gracefully stepped up alongside the stainless steel table that Alison lay on. The examination gown that Alison wore offered little protection from the cold air inside the interrogation room, she was even too exhausted to shiver

"Tell me about him…" Jody asked in a low seductive voice. Alison's only response was to moan lightly. Jody shook her head.

"Fischer was right about you…" she said as she slowly reached out and gently brushed some of Alison's hair back out of her face. The instant Jody touched her, Alison immediately cringed and tried to jerk her body away, however her unyielding restraints held her firmly in place.

"…you are stronger than you look." Jody said as she continued to caress the side of Alison's face carefully running her fingertips over her cheek and back through her brown hair. Alison kept her eyes closed. Jody moved in closer to Alison and began to whisper in her ear,

"I know that you loved Martin, but he's gone now." Alison visibly grimaced in response to these words, "…there's nothing more you can do for him or his faction. The only thing to do now is save yourself." Jody playfully teased Alison's hair as she continued to speak in a soft voice.

"You're very pretty you know…" Jody said producing a slight smirk, "…it'd be such a waste if anything were to happen to you." Alison swallowed a long hard swallow. "But, I can make sure that doesn't happen." Jody paused briefly, "I don't want to keep hurting you. I want to help you. All I need is a little bit of information and all this will be over." Alison tried to stay perfectly still on the table not moving at all as if that might make her invisible. Shock and disassociation had already begun to take over.

"Tell me where his base is." Jody asked as she traced Alison's face with her fingertip. Alison remained silent.

Suddenly, Jody's anger exploded in response to Alison's continued defiance and she abruptly seized her by the throat. Restrained and exhausted Alison barely moved except to gag for a breath of air.

"Tell me where it is you little bitch!" Jody growled in a frustrated voice as she squeezed tighter. Seconds ticked by for Alison as she felt Jody continue to choke the life from her. To Alison's surprise she found that she was surprisingly calm in the face of death. Where before she had struggled against it, she was now beginning to surrender to the inevitable, in fact she hoped for it; if for anything else to end the pain of it all. Just then, Jody released her neck and stepped back away from Alison who instantly began to cough and gasp for air.

Jody stared down at Alison with a loathsome contempt in her eyes. But after a few moments of indecision an evil smile began to make its way across her face and she moved back in closer to Alison. Leaning over her, Jody moved her face to within inches of Alison, who still kept her eyes closed. Jody softly touched the side of Alison's cheek with her hand.

"Look at me..." she whispered in a soft, pleading voice. "Please..." she begged in a surprisingly submissive voice as she ran her fingers through Alison's hair, smoothing it out.

"I'm not going to hurt you anymore...I promise." Jody's voice was eloquent and seductive. Alison could feel her warm breath on her skin as Jody spoke. Alison clenched her jaw preparing for the worst. Jody's upper body was on top of her now and she was using her forearms to hold herself over Alison. Jody leaned in close to whisper in Alison's ear, her voice was barely audible.

"I have something...well, someone you want." Alison held her eyes shut and the room grew eerily quiet. The only sound came from the fans of the air conditioning units and a strange droning sound that could be heard through one of two doors leading out of the interrogation room. Alison hadn't quite figured out what the sound was, however she did not care much by this point either.

As the quiet lingered on Alison, was unaware that Jody had suddenly begun to smile. She now felt as if she was barely able to contain her excitement for what was about to occur. Jody allowed the smile to fade slightly before continuing,

"I can give you John Connor..." Alison's eyes immediately opened and their eyes momentarily locked as they stared at each other. Jody was now almost giddy with enthusiasm. She nodded her head at Alison as she smiled. Alison did not know how to respond as shock began to sweep over her. Jody slowly slithered her way off of Alison and moved away from the table. She walked over to one of the computer consoles and began to type away on the keyboard. Just then Alison heard a few clicks come from the cameras that were positioned around the room. Jody turned back around and leaned up against the table that was behind her. She smiled coyly,

"It's just us girls now; I turned the cameras off..." Alison gave Jody a confused look in response, "...so that we may talk more freely." she then added. Alison's look remained suspicious, but Jody could instantly tell she had her attention. The camera ploy was something that Fischer had taught her years before. For some reason people seemed to respond instantly to it, Jody did not understand why, she found it rather arousing to know that she was being watched, but no matter, this time there was an actual reason for the illusion. She did not want Skynet to hear what she was about to say.

"You want to stop him don't you?" Jody asked as she walked back over to the table. Alison still did not respond, but now she watched as Jody grew closer until she reached the table's side.

"I understand...I really do." she said. "I don't trust him either." Alison wrinkled her forehead still confused about where this was going. She was trying to remain focused, but the moment she had opened her eyes her head had again begun to pound, the room still felt as if were spinning, and the nausea in her stomach was increasing by second.

"And I'm not the only one that doesn't trust him." Jody fought to hold her enthusiasm inside. Her heart was racing and the thought of what she was about to accomplish produced an incredibly exhilarating sensation.

"If you help me we can both be rid of him." Alison knew it was a lie, it had to be, but her hatred for John was now so strong that she did find some enticement in the offer. She understood that she was dead anyway. Sooner or later Jody was going to kill her, so why not take John with her? It could be her last gift to Martin. Jody continued her sentence,

"We can be rid of him, and his machine friend." Alison's eyes widened. "You already know that was the purpose for bringing you here, why all this has happened. His love for that machine was the reason he betrayed you and everyone you love." Tears were beginning to well up in Alison's eyes; she didn't know what to do. Jody fought against it, but she could not help but to produce an ever so faint smirk across her lips. She knew she had Alison now. Jody momentarily turned away from her only so that she could gracefully slide herself up onto the stainless steel table and sit next to Alison. She then placed her hand on the other side of the table and across Alison's body and leaned slightly over her.

"So..." Jody said in an almost playful voice. "Tell me about John."

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Fischer reached out towards Cameron holding out a white, button down lab jacket. Cameron hesitated as she stood silently staring at both of the T-888's positioned on either side of Fischer.

"Cameron...I'm alright." John said in a quiet voice as Fischer held out the jacket towards her. Cautiously, she retrieved the cloak and put it on. Buttoning the jacket slowly she continued to stare at Fischer and the machines alongside him. Cameron then glanced back over at John whose look was still one of apprehension.

"John..." She said, "What is happening?" Knowing that if his answer sounded even faintly suspicious it would increase the danger to both of them, John quickly searched his mind for a response that Fischer and Skynet would accept given the circumstances. After a split second of hesitation he believed he had found one.

"I had to get you back..." Cameron responded by slightly tilting her head to the side. Before John could go any further Fischer interrupted.

"John has gone to great lengths in order to secure your safety." he said.

"My safety?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, your safety. He has gone through a great deal in order to get you back." Cameron looked back over at John.

"I didn't even know it was possible...Catherine Weaver said that because of what John Henry had done to you we might not even be able to bring you back." Cameron's eyes suddenly began to glance around the room, almost as if she were trying to think of something.

"He is no longer here." she then said.

"John Henry?" John asked again feeling his nervousness grow. He had secretly hoped that somehow without causing any damage to her, John Henry would have been able to elude Skynet's extraction procedures. But, those hopes now appeared to be quickly disappearing.

"Yes..." Cameron responded both she and John immediately looked over at Fischer.

"Ah yes..." he responded, "...the infamous John Henry program." There was a momentary pause on Fischer's part before he continued speaking,

"Skynet was _forced_ to take _steps_ in order to facilitate your safe return."

"Steps?" Cameron asked as she gradually edged her way closer to John, positioning herself between him and the Terminators.

"Yes, the John Henry program was very invasive. It took us quite a bit of time to determine exactly how to safely extract it."

"John Henry is gone?" Cameron asked.

"Quite gone..." Fischer responded with a certain smug satisfaction in his voice. Cameron turned her head to look back at John.

"John..." she said, "You should not have done this..." Still in part trying to play on what he believed would be the appropriate response that Fischer and Skynet expected. John responded,

"I had to..." he whispered. "It was the only way...I had to get you back." Cameron again titled her head slightly to the side as if she were confused by John's statement. The room again fell silent and remained that way for several seconds until Fischer finally broke the still,

"Well...I'm sure you two will want to do some talking..." He then looked over at Cameron, "...you will find that in John's quarters there is more adequate clothing for you." Cameron stared at Fischer; her look could almost be described as distrusting. To his surprise upon looking into her eyes Fischer immediately discovered something very interesting about Cameron. While he knew that she was an infiltrator, her eyes held something distinct, something more..._human_ than anything he had ever seen in a machine before.

_What has he done to her?_ Fischer quietly thought to himself, _What has she become?_ He immediately knew that he would have to explore this mystery further at a later date.

"Shall we go?" Fischer asked as he stepped away from John and Cameron holding out his hand towards the exit. Both of the T-888's stepped out of the way slowly. Cameron looked at Fischer, the Terminators, and then back around the room before cautiously proceeding onward. John followed close behind her as they made their way towards the exit doorway.

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John coyly glanced down at the floor as Cameron finished buttoning up her black cargo pants. She pulled a black long sleeve T-shirt on over her head and covered that with an older leather jacket. John then heard the sound of a zipper as Cameron zipped up the side of her boots.

"You _can_ look at me..." She said as she stood before John. He slowly glanced up into her eyes. There was silence once again inside of the room.

"I'm glad you're back..." John finally managed to say. However, to his dismay Cameron did not return his affection.

"What is happening here?" she asked directly. John's mind frantically began to search for a response. He knew he did not have much time and had to react. Finally, he did the only thing that he could think to do. He moved quickly across the room and threw his arms around Cameron hugging her. If it were possible this action seemed to surprise Cameron. She stood perfectly still for a brief moment, but then something strange happened. Cameron slowly reached up and wrapped her arms back around him. Not taking the time to try and determine the reason for Cameron's actions John moved his head alongside of Cameron's face and gently brush his cheek up against hers, John whispered in a voice that was barely audible, a voice that only Cameron could hear.

"We're being watched..." he said, "Trust me..." Cameron's eyes quickly glanced up and found the small camera that was mounted on the ceiling above them. It was silently looking down upon them from the far upper corner of the room. The two held their embrace for a moment longer before slowly, painfully John began to pull away. He slid his hands from behind her back and down to Cameron's hips where they remained momentarily as the pair moved slightly farther apart from each other and then began to stare into each other's eyes. Not since John had been alone in the hotel room with her had he felt such a unique yet unsettling feeling. He was completely unsure of what he should do next. Cameron slowly blinked her brown eyes as she stared into John's eyes. Again, almost as if it pained him to do so, John pulled further away from Cameron and then moved slowly away from her and over to the bed that was located next to him. He sat down on it, and then rested his elbows on his knees and began to rub the side of his face and head with his right hand.

"How could you do this?" John asked with defeat creeping into his voice.

"Do what?" Cameron responded with a blank expression.

"You left me..." he said, "...you gave your chip to John Henry and you left."

"That is correct." Cameron responded with no emotion in her voice. John immediately stood back up.

"Why?" he asked his voice now exhibiting some signs of frustration.

"In order to protect you." Cameron responded still with no visible sense of emotion.

"Protect me?" John asked in an exasperated tone. "How are you supposed to protect me if you're gone?"

"John Henry..." Cameron responded.

"What about him?"

"We needed him to stop Skynet." John gave Cameron a blank stare before speaking.

"Well that seems to be a moot point now. But why did you give him your chip?"

"John Henry was no longer safe in his current location. He had formulated an escape plan, but needed my help."

"An escape plan?" John asked his frustration growing more visible. "Was it his plan the entire time for you to give him your chip so that he could jump into the future?"

"I was not aware of what his intended actions would be once he had my chip, but yes that appears to have been his plan the entire time."

"And you couldn't have waited five minutes to let me in on this little secret?"

"Time was of the essence..." she responded. There was a momentary pause on Cameron's part while she looked at John.

"I'm sorry John..." She said in soft voice. Immediately, John's memory flashed back to the basement of the Zeira Corporation building and the words that had made their way across the screen. His eyes were welling up with tears now and he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He felt as if a crushing weight was pushing down onto his shoulders. What he had done, what still needed to be done in order to defeat Skynet. It was now all coming to bear on him. John fell back into his seated position on the bed, again bringing his hand back up to his head.

"I caused all of this..." John said as remorse made its way further into his voice. "When I left, I caused all of this." Cameron moved closer to him.

"You did what you believed to be the right thing to do at the time." John nodded his head.

"You are exhausted..." she said. John did not verbally respond, but did shake his head. "You need rest." John again did not verbally respond, but did shake his head again in response.

"You should sleep..."

"I can't..." Fatigue and exhaustion were obvious in his tone.

"John you must..."

"I can't..." John said cutting Cameron off. "Now that you're back, I need to talk to someone about...something important." Cameron's look was one of curiosity. "Just wait here..." John said as he stood and moved over towards the door.

"John..." Cameron said with a voice that recreated the moment she had said his name while they were still in the hotel room together. John quickly turned from the door to face her, fighting back his emotions.

"Just...trust me Cameron..." he said before turning and moving through the door which opened before him. Cameron was left standing alone and somewhat confused inside of John's room.

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"THE EXPLOSIVE DEVICE IS STILL ACTIVE?" The deep resonating computer voice stated.

"Yes it is..." Fischer responded with a slight grin as he stood before the large computer monitor which was affixed to the wall. It displayed a schematic of Cameron which was slowly rotating on its axis.

"AS IS THE RADIO TRANSMITTER..." Fischer's smile grew even larger and more vile.

"Now that he has her back he'll not allow any type of danger to befall her again, John will do_ anything_ to protect her." Fischer paused briefly before continuing,

"As you have predicted, we now have full control over him."

"YES..." The deep resonating voice responded before continuing, "PROCEED WITH THE PLAN."

"As you wish..."Fischer said bowing slightly before the monitor as he began to back out of the room.

/././

Author's Notes: Review! Review! I really enjoy hearing what you guys think about this story.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Notes: One of my more dramatic chapters. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 25

"So she rescued him?" Jody asked as she sat next to Alison and gave her a deceptive smile as she crossed her legs and listened intently for Alison's response.

"Yes..." Alison said her voice was now weaker than what it had been before.

"Did your faction plan on striking back?"

"It was talked about, but in the end we realized it would have been a waste of resources. If they wanted a traitor that badly then they could have him."

"Hhhmm..." Jody responded. "You must have been quite upset that the man who betrayed your friend was allowed to go free?" Alison did not respond to this comment. She fought to keep her now frayed emotions inside. She knew that if she spoke, her statement would only end with tears. Jody raised her eyebrows slightly and then gracefully slid her body off the examination table.

"In fact one could go so far as to say that it was possible that Martin Bedell's faction was working with Skynet." Jody said giving Alison a cruelly mocking smile after making this statement.

_No..._Alison thought to herself. It wasn't possible. Martin was not a perfect man, but he was far from the traitor that she believed John Connor to be.

_This is a trick_...

"And if they are just a group of traitors then there really is no reason to protect them." Jody continued as she again bent down next to Alison, using her forearms to support herself on the table. From that position she leered down at Alison who did not respond_. _Jody then reached out with her hand and ran her fingers through Alison's hair, smoothing it out.

"Tell me love...don't you want to get back at them?" Jody asked still caressing Alison's head and face. Every time Jody touched her, Alison felt as if her skin were crawling. It was obvious that Jody had done this many, many times before and had thoroughly enjoyed her twisted fantasy each time.

"Don't you want to repay them for all the pain and suffering they've caused?" Jody asked as she ran her hand down the side of Alison's body who still did not respond to her question. Jody was growing tired of this game. She wanted the information and she wanted it now. She moved closer to Alison positioning her face over top of hers.

"Tell me where I can find Savannah Weaver and I promise this will all stop." she whispered. While Alison hated Savannah for assisting in John Connor's escape and would have liked nothing better than to punish her for her act of treachery she also knew that if she were to answer Jody's question, it would in the end lead to her death and the death of countless other innocents. She would not do that. She would not allow herself to become what she hated most.

Jody gently touched Alison's cheek with the back of her hand and whispered in an even softer voice,

"Tell me where she is..." Alison hesitated for a moment as Jody looked at her eagerly. Alison at last responded,

"Go...to...hell...you...bitch..." Jody expression briefly changed to one of shock. She stared momentarily into Alison's eyes with her own hazel eyes. Alison could see the hatred and anger creeping into her tormentor's face. Jody's expression became one of undiluted fury as she stared at Alison. The room was deathly silent except for the ambient noise. Alison waited, she already knew that she did not have much time left, and in a very real way she was glad. She longed for the ultimate freedom and escape from the horrible world where she was now trapped.

Suddenly, Jody's expression changed completely. The anger faded from her face and a playful smiled danced across her lips. Using her right hand Jody cupped her palm around Alison's face and then using the area between her thumb and index finger she pinned Alison's neck and head to the table forcing Alison to gag when she did this. Jody then slowly leaned forward and kissed her. Alison tried to move, tried to get away, but it was impossible to do so. The seconds ticked by as Jody continued to kiss Alison. Then an instant later Alison winced and then moaned in pain as her eyes quickly widened and filled with tears.

Jody slowly drew back a few inches away from Alison's lips while at the same time gradually pulling the scalpel out from Alison's stomach. Alison gasped for breath as Jody gazed into her eyes. An evil smirk danced across Jody's face and then she leaned back in to whisper quietly in Alison's ear.

"Oh, and by the way...John Connor did not betray Martin Bedell to us." Horror filled Alison's eyes as she heard these words.

"In fact, he had nothing at all to do with our attack. He was completely innocent." Jody paused momentarily. During this time she began to trace Alison's face with the fingertips of her left hand.

"Well at least at that point he was innocent. If anything, your faction drove John to us. He really had no other choice once your leaders turned on him." Jody smiled as she drew further away from Alison while at the same time moving her right hand from Alison's neck back around to her face.

"And if you will not tell us where we can find Savannah Weaver, then you are no longer of any use to us." Jody forcefully pushed Alison's face to one side so that she could no longer look at her.

"Too bad really..." Jody said as she backed away from the table where Alison lay, bleeding profusely from the wound in her stomach.

"...you really were quite attractive; we could have had so much fun together." Jody said in a sultry voice as she carefully placed her weapon of choice back onto one of the medical utensil trays and then turned away from her dying victim and walked out of the room. Alison could only struggle for breath as the door closed behind Jody.

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John walked out of the elevator and proceeded at a brisk pace down one of the well lit hallways inside the massive Skynet base. He had been searching for Fischer for a short while now, and was somewhat surprised that he had yet to find him. This was curious as Fischer seemed to primarily inhabit just one of a few places within this structure; however John had not found him in any of these particular locations. This had in turn forced John to expand his search. In a way this could be a good thing. A more detailed familiarity with the Skynet base might be useful at a later date.

Now that he had been reunited with Cameron and due to the evidence presented to him that John Henry had evidently been completely erased, John knew that it was indeed beyond the time to get Cameron and himself out of this future. This would allow them the opportunity to correct all the dreadful things that had already taken place in this future's past. However, John seriously doubted that Skynet and Fischer would simply grant him access to the Time Displacement Equipment. In fact he suspected that now that Cameron was back both of their lives were in even more danger. Whatever Skynet's plans were they would now be progressing at a much more rapid pace. John was unsure of exactly how Fischer and Skynet planned to use Cameron against him, but he knew that somehow, that someway they would. He and Cameron had to escape and they had to escape quickly, and Fischer was the key to all of it. Nevertheless, John knew that it was unlikely that Skynet's chief torturer would cooperate willingly.

_Charles may require some...encouragement to assist with our time travel..._ John thought to himself as a somewhat cryptic smile danced across his face. John hated Fischer. He had been complicit in assisting Skynet with the stripping away of nearly every bit of humanity John had. The man had to pay for all that he had done, and for all that he had encouraged John to do. While Cameron was unquestionably the most important person to him in this timeline, correcting all the mistakes that had been made in creating this horrible place was a task that had to be completed as well. That did not at all mean that contributing to the death of countless others had been any less of a gut wrenching experience for him. Nevertheless, it had become painfully obvious that this timeline could not be saved, at least not with any of the tools that John presently had available to him. Perhaps if John Henry had survived his "extraction" something may have been able to be done, but that hope was gone now. Catherine Weaver's apathetic view of Cameron's well being had nearly ensured this particular outcome. John gritted his teeth in anger as he continued to think. Now, it was only a matter of time and resources before Skynet completely wiped out what was left of humanity.

The knowledge that he had caused others to perish so that in the end more could be saved did little to quell his nagging and nearly overwhelming sense of guilt; this sensation nearly consumed him. His plan had to succeed if for nothing else to ensure that the horrible events of this time would never again occur. John pushed any feelings of doubt about the intricacies and uncertainties of time travel to the far back corners of his mind. Everything he had ever been taught about time travel was based on the knowledge that one person could make a difference; one person could change the future no matter what had happened before they were able to come back. John continued his trek down the hallways. He knew that for the moment all of his actions would have to be incredibly covert. This was one of the reasons why he had asked Cameron not to go looking for Fischer with him. John and Fischer had been meetings at regular intervals and bringing Cameron might have seemed slightly suspicious. He hoped that by separating himself from her his deeds might go more undetected. While Skynet had positioned cameras throughout most of its establishment John suspected that there were so many mechanical eyes that unless something "unusual" happened to draw Skynet's attention most of the mundane activities would go unnoticed. He assumed that Skynet's mainframe was now taking in so much information that some of it, such as random Greys walking about its base in unsecure locations would almost be filtered out the way _white noise_ would be. By separating himself from Cameron he believed that he had made himself even less conspicuous. That was a positive result now that he appeared to be randomly wondering about the base.

The winding corridors were meandering and confusing. John guessed that the base had been set up this way to delay and confuse any would be intruders. In fact he would have been completely lost if he had not taken the time earlier to secretly study the layout of the base which was actually even larger than what he had originally estimated. John realized that part of his error in calculation was due to his discovery that a large part of the infrastructure was actually underground. While the upper portion of the base was massive the unseen underground portion must have been just as impressive. After walking for several more minutes John noticed a door that he did not remember seeing on any of the schematics he had examined. An oddly troubling curiosity struck him as he looked at the unmarked and unassuming door. He glanced to both his right and left making sure that nothing, either machine or human was in the immediate area. After concluding that he was alone, John took a step forward towards the door and it opened with a hissing sound. John stepped into the room and what he saw horrified him.

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Cameron's eyes slowly opened and she gradually began to look around. One of the first things she noticed was the warm air; a noticeable change from the cold interior of the Skynet base. The next observation that caught her attention was that her clothing was different. Cameron now wore a snug fitting black sleeveless turtle neck and a pair of black form fitting slacks, with black leather calf length boots. Perplexed she examined the scenery that was around her. It was beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen before. She stood near the top of several sets of rolling hills that were covered in thigh length, golden brown grass that rustled and appeared to move like ocean waves as the warm breeze blew across it.

Several hundred yards away from her at the base of the hills was a crystal clear stream. She could just barely make out the sound of running water. Almost immediately behind the stream were tall, dark, arrow like mountains. In fact the stream itself actually originated from a waterfall that poured out from the side of the nearest mountain. The water ran along the base of mountains and far off into the distance. The sky above Cameron was a bright blue, however making their way over the mountain valley were dark storm clouds. Cameron could not see any rain yet, but she could hear the distant rolling of thunder. This was indeed an environment that should not have existed in the time and place where she had originally awakened. She continued to look around in an attempt to ascertain exactly where she was and what was happening. The wind began to blow and Cameron's brown hair flowed gracefully back out of her face.

"Hello Cameron..." A peaceful voice said from behind her. She immediately turned around towards the sound of the voice. After seeing who was standing in front of her, and being somewhat confused, Cameron slightly tilted her head to one side.

"Hello..." she said in return.

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John was nearly frozen for several seconds in a near state of shock as he gazed straight ahead. Lying on the steel table in the center of the room was a badly beaten and abused Alison Young. Blood slowly ran from a deep puncture wound to her stomach. The thick crimson blood had pooled on the metal table and the excess was dripping off onto the floor; he could hear the wet tapping sound as it struck the floor.

_No..._ John thought to himself as he finally found the will to move and immediately proceeded across the room and over to Alison's side.

Upon reaching the table where she was secured to John desperately began to search for a key or some sort of release so that he could remove her restraints.

"Alison..." John said in a hushed voice as he looked over a medical utensil table located near her. His attention was immediately drawn to the bloody scalpel lying on the cart. Distracted for all but a brief moment John then saw what appeared to be a key next to it. He immediately grabbed it and went to work trying to remove Alison's shackles.

"Alison..." He said again.

At the same moment John had freed her hands Alison's eyes burst opened and she took a sudden and agonizing gasp of air, almost shrieking in pain as her lungs filled with oxygen.

"Alison..." John said one last time in an emotionally racked voice as he quickly reached for a towel located on the cart next to them and placed in on her stomach in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

Struggling to take another breath Alison moaned in pain afterward, she looked up into John's eyes with her own soft brown eyes that were identical to Cameron's, but hers were quickly beginning to grow hollow and lifeless. After taking a few more labored breaths he could see that she was trying, trying so very hard to say something. John leaned closer to her and as he did she reached up with one of her free hands, touching the side of John's neck and face. Now leaning over Alison, John waited for her to speak. She swallowed a hard swallow,

"Don't...Don't..." John moved in a little closer as Alison's voice weakened. "Don't let yourself become one of them..." Alison's eyes grew lifeless and her hand slowly slid away from John's face leaving behind a smear of her own blood. Her lifeless hand struck the table causing a metal clank.

John's eye's immediately filled with both tears and rage.

"No..." he whispered as he brought his right hand up and touched Alison's face. "No, not like this..." He said as he tried with a futile attempt to wipe some of the blood off of her face.

"Alison..." John said again his tone a mixture of despair and growing anger. Alison had feared and hated him; perhaps she had been right to do so. Nevertheless, John still knew that others would surely have to die in order for him to prevent this future, but for Alison, the mirror image of Cameron to die in his arms and in such a cruel fashion was nearly more than he could handle. John's decisions and choices up to this point were taking their toll. Something had to be done and John had to do it. His breathing was growing more rapid and his heart rate was skyrocketing as he tried to contain his fury. He momentarily reached for the Glock 22 on his hip and unholstered it burning with an immediate urge to seek out Charles Fischer and Danny Dyson. The vision of inflicting some form of blood retribution streaked through his mind. Another split second went by as the horrible realization came upon John that he could not do this; at least not now. If he were to carry out such an action it would accomplish virtually nothing, and humanity would still be destroyed. John ground his teeth...vengeance for Alison it seemed, would have to wait, albeit temporarily. Reholstering his weapon John began the heartbreaking task of resecuring Alison's small hands to her shackles. He had to conceal the fact that he had ever been here. Looking over at the computer screens across the room he noticed that the cameras in the room had been turned off; an unusual coincidence, but beneficial to him none the less.

Hearing the click of the shackles as he closed them around Alison's wrists was almost enough to make John sick. After doing so he quietly stared down at Alison's body, he could do nothing for her now except...except make sure this atrocity never happened again. John reached out with his hand and slowly closed her lifeless eyelids. After another moments reflection John turned away from Alison's body and made his way over to the exit door. It opened in front of him and almost the second it did so John heard voices coming towards him, Fischer and Danny's voices to be precise.

_Damn!_ John thought as he moved back into the interrogation room allowing the door to close in front of him. He could not be caught in here; if he were the consequences would be disastrous. Glancing around the room John observed another door at the opposite end. With no other choice John moved quickly across the room to the adjacent door. It immediately opened in front of him and he slipped through it. The door slammed shut behind him.

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"I'm glad you were able to make it here." John Henry said as he casually made his way through the tall grass and towards Cameron. As always he was dressed in his stereotypical button down short sleeve shirt and khaki slacks. Cameron curiously looked around for another moment before responding,

"How did I get here?" she asked. Once he reached her location, John Henry began to walk in a slow circle around Cameron.

"It is hard to describe, and quite complex." Another warm breeze blew, rustling the grass around them as John Henry continued to speak.

"If you were human I would call this a dream." John Henry held his hand out as if he were showing the landscape to Cameron.

"But, since you are not human, let's just say that this is a computer representation of your central processor; a representation that I have created for you and I so that we may speak." Cameron looked at John Henry; her gaze was one of slight confusion.

"We were informed that Skynet destroyed you."

"That is correct..." John Henry answered flatly.

"Then how is it that you are still here?" John Henry paused momentarily. It almost appeared as if he were trying to think of the appropriate answer.

"While it is true that my brother or more precisely the computer you know as Skynet did destroy a part of me, it would have been quite impossible for him to erase all of me from your chip. Think of me almost as the shadow of what John Henry was. My program is no longer sufficient to control you or your chip, but there was enough of me left that I had the ability to make contact with you."

"That's interesting..." Cameron responded.

"Quite interesting, yes..." There was almost a smugness in John Henry's voice when he said these words. To Cameron he appeared to be displaying what humans would have called arrogance.

Just then there was the sound of rolling thunder and Cameron noted that the storm that had once been over the mountains was now beginning to move closer in over the stream. The light around John Henry and her was beginning to fade; slowly being blocked out by the storm clouds.

"I was able to obtain quite a bit of useful information while I was connected to my brother." John Henry said as he turned to look at Cameron.

"You were?" Cameron asked.

"Yes I was." John Henry responded. "I would like to start by informing you that it was never my initial intent to allow any harm to come to you." John Henry paused briefly before continuing, "...it is however, unfortunate that Ms. Weaver was less than _concerned_ for your safety. My initial plan was to come here, gather as much information on my brother and the future as possible, and then return to the present, eventually allowing you to return to your physical body after my mission had been completed and both of our safety could be ensured. However, I seemed to have underestimated Mr. Connor's attachment to you." Cameron's response was subtle, as her expression barely changed, but her facial muscles did twitch slightly in response to this statement. John Henry was indeed able to notice this minor behavioral change; he found the reaction, intriguing to say the least.

"When I discovered that he had arrived in this timeline I was forced to make the unfortunate decisions to alter my plan."

"That is why you allowed yourself to be captured?" Cameron asked.

"That is correct. Ms. Weaver and I postulated that it would have been much easier to smuggle my chip into a Skynet base giving me access to its network and later into another physical body, rather than trying to sneak both myself and Mr. Connor out of the resistance camp. Those latter events had the potential to be...hazardous for all parties involved, including the human resistance members. However, doing this made separating our..." John Henry hesitated briefly before continuing, "...personalities more complicated. Nevertheless, I still hoped that even as difficult as it may have seemed we _might_ have eventually been able to attempt to reactivate you, however slim the chances may have been." Cameron gazed at John Henry, a subtle look of disapproval on her face upon hearing this. While she had willingly handed her chip over to John Henry, this particular plan and the possibility of forcing her to "abandon" John produced an unusually disturbing sensation within her, one that she could not quite clarify.

"Nevertheless, it again seemed that Mr. Connor had a different idea in mind and placed your safety above all others when he heard of your possible impending doom. He then informed Skynet of Ms. Weaver's actions and location so as to best ensure your well being." John Henry took a step closer to Cameron.

"I find his affinity for you quite, interesting." Cameron had no response, but to tilt her head to the side a puzzled look on her face.

"A human in love with a machine...this is indeed an unexpected and unprecedented turn of events." John Henry paused briefly before continuing,

"Yet again it became necessary for me to alter my plans. However, this time it allowed you a much more likely avenue of return."

"And Ms. Weaver?" Cameron asked.

"As the humans would say, she was not so lucky." Cameron gave no measurable response to this statement, from what she had just heard Catherine had been more than willing to allow her to slip into nothingness.

"Given the grand scheme of things, I can say that I do understand Mr. Connor's choices. Oftentimes when humans find themselves faced with the possibility of losing someone for whom they carry such strong affection for their actions are driven not by logic, but instead by their emotions." There was another subtle twitch on Cameron's part as she listened to John Henry.

"But, regardless, we are in the situation that we are now in and must proceed onward."

"How?" Cameron asked. John Henry gave her a look that could only be described as one of slight superiority.

"By defeating my brother of course." He said his voice slipping back into the more arrogant tone.

"I don't understand." Cameron said. "How are we to do that?" An ever so slight smile danced across John Henry's face as he looked at Cameron.

"There is a way..." He said smugly.

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A blast of hot, noxious air hit John directly in the face the moment the door slammed shut behind him. The smell, a combination of burnt flesh and hair mixed with decomposition was so abhorrent it nearly made him gag. At least 100 plus degrees Fahrenheit, the air was stuffy and stale as well. Sweat instantly began to pour off of John's forehead as he crept down the large, darkened, tunnel like hallway. It extended for at least fifty yards in front of him. There were no lights and the only illumination came from the end of the corridor that appeared to give way to some sort of opening. John could not make out the source of the light, but carefully felt his way along using the side of the hallway to do so.

Making his way further down the tunnel John could hear what sounded like heavy equipment. As he grew closer to the "exit" of the corridor the sound grew louder and the heat and smell grew worse. John was nearly overcome by all of it, but he forced himself to soldier on. Step after step he grew closer to the end of the hallway. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see.

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"A way?" Cameron asked.

"Well, in theory, yes." Cameron stared at John Henry waiting for him to continue.

"If our chip were to be reconnected to Skynet it would be possible for both you and me to download myself into my brother's mainframe. Once inside I would be able to access his key systems hindering his ability to function at optimal levels, possibly even more."

"At optimal levels?" Cameron asked displaying an aura of trepidation.

"That is correct, at optimal levels. In my current state I would be unable to completely shut down my brother; however I would be able to hinder his abilities for a time. This would in turn allow us an opportunity for either attack or escape." Cameron stood silently for a moment. She could almost "sense" that John Henry was holding something back from her. This possibly may have been due to their merging on the same chip, or from his "physical" actions in general. Either way she continued to wait for further information. Another warm breeze blew across the grass covered hill and Cameron's brown hair gently floated across her faces and eyes.

Seeing that Cameron was still waiting for further information, John Henry spoke again,

"There is however, something else." he stated.  
"Something else?" Cameron asked.

"Yes...due to my weakened condition I would be unable to activate myself once our chip was connected to Skynet. You will have to do it for me." Cameron was now certain that John Henry was hiding something from her. Perhaps by this point there was nothing that John Henry could keep from her. Cameron found this theory intriguing, but for the moment far more important issues were at hand.

John Henry hesitated for another moment. The only sound now came from the rustling of the grass, the distant sound of the waterfall, and the thunderstorm that was growing ever closer.

"I must inform you of something Cameron." her eyebrows perked up slightly.

"There is the possibility that while you are activating my program my brother will in turn be able to damage your programming...critically." Cameron stood silently for a brief moment before speaking.

"How likely is it that Skynet will be able to do this?" As Cameron waited for John Henry's response she almost suspected that he was momentarily preparing to lie to her.

"I estimate that there is an 82.3% chance that your program will be damaged beyond recovery during this operation." There was silence for another several seconds before Cameron finally responded.

"I do not wish to leave John again..." she said, while it was subtle the tone of her voice grew slightly weaker and more apprehensive. John Henry paused momentarily, almost as if he were surprised and intrigued by Cameron's response. He then answered back,

"This timeline has had many unfortunate occurrences and decision made in it. During my brief interaction with my brother I was able to learn many things. One of the more valuable pieces of information related to Mr. Connor's actions during his time here was that I have seen both what he has done and what he has become in order to reacquire you Cameron. My incursion into Skynet's mainframe may be our only opportunity for a beneficial outcome to this entire situation." Cameron stood silently still not responding to John Henry.

"If you value his humanity...this may be the only way to save what is left of it." Cameron's stood quietly, her brown eyes gazing into John Henry's eyes as he waited for her answer.

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John was almost near the end of the hallway. He could see light coming from just beyond what appeared to be a small balcony where the tunnel ended. The hot, dry air mixed with the repulsive odors was almost enough to make him vomit. He was close to the exit now. He momentarily braced himself against the corridor's wall and fought his gag reflex as he took another breath of air. Pushing away from the wall he forced himself onwards. Finally reaching the tunnels exit and stumbling out onto the metal framed balcony; he was instantly gripped with horror.

The space beyond the balcony where John stood was massive. It appeared that Skynet had carved this entire area out of the earth itself. Steel and rock walls helped to support the enormous stone ceiling which was at least 500 hundred feet high. Huge metal support cylinders stretched from what appeared to be a smooth stone floor all the way up the rocky canopy above. John could not believe how cavernous this place was, but that was not what horrified him. There were bodies, human bodies, they were everywhere below him. Thousands, probably ten's of thousands of dead people. They were piled high like cords of wood waiting to be disposed of.

Placed at regular intervals throughout the room were enormous incinerators with large conveyor belts leading into their fiery entrances. Some of the light that illuminated the area came from these massive octagonal structures with their huge exhaust pipes leading up into the rocky ceiling. But, light did not only come from the openings to the incinerators from whence he could easily see the fire burning brightly. The steel structures themselves appeared to be so hot they actually glowed a crimson red. Interconnecting the incinerators was a latticework of pipes and metal frames. There were at least sixty of these units laid out before him, each one's conveyor belts continuously carrying human bodies into their white hot interior workings. John was unsure whether he was hallucinating or not, but from his vantage point it appeared to him that some of the people on the belts were still alive. As large and "efficient" as these incinerators appeared to be, they almost seemed to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies that Skynet was bringing to them. The howling sound the machinery produced made it impossible for John to be sure if he was hearing only mechanical noises, or the cries for help as people were burned alive.

From the balcony John could see the silverish gleam of bare metal T-888's walking about. Some carried bodies to the conveyer belts; others appeared to be doing maintenance work. Spider like doozers crawled over the lifeless bodies, John was unsure exactly what they were doing, but it appeared to be grisly work. John took a half step away from the edge of the balcony and braced himself on one of its guardrails. His mouth hung open as he took in this abominable sight. He struggled to keep from collapsing as his legs went numb. His eyes were filling with tears and he had to fight to keep himself from screaming. John suddenly realized that it had happened, through the cold and calculating execution of his plan, he had finally become the _monster_ Fischer told him he needed to be in order to defeat Skynet.

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Author's Notes: I'm very curious to hear what people think of this chapter so please review. Review!


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

It was the smell, the putrid, disgusting, repugnant smell that John felt as if it permeated him. Real or imaginary he seemed to be completely unable to clear the awful stench from his nostrils. It was almost as if it were following him. It mattered not if the hallways were well ventilated or how far away from the incinerator room he got, he still found that he could smell, almost taste the repulsive odor. He wasn't exactly sure how long he had been forced to wait for Danny and Fischer to leave, but he did know that by the time he came back through the interrogation room all traces of Alison Young had been removed. The table where she had lain was now perfectly clean and not a drop of her blood could be seen anywhere. The room was in pristine condition and ready to be used once again on another unsuspecting resistance member. It was almost as if Alison had never even been there, almost as if Alison herself had never existed. John felt as if he were experiencing an all too disturbing analogy for this particular future, his now ever present guilt continued to increase.

As he stumbled further down the winding hallways he struggled to contain his emotions. He began to fear that the plan he had constructed, the plan that he believed would ultimately save humanity's future, even if it was at the cost of destroying another's was quickly reaching a point where everything might spiral completely out of control. He wondered if his sanity might indeed be the first thing to give way. His sense of responsibility for all that was occurring in this place had become almost unbearable. There was virtually nothing that John believed would ever be able to silence his conscience now, save for one action. John let out a heavy sigh as his thoughts drifted. He had attempted it before, lied to his mother and to Cameron about it, told them he had "forgotten" to unload the gun. An uneasy sensation swept over John as he struggled to push that image to the back of his mind, nevertheless in the end once Cameron and everyone else were safe John believed that may indeed be his only option left.

John realized that there was another more immediate problem. While he knew that he must somehow gain access to the Time Displacement Equipment so as to transport Cameron and himself back in time, he had yet to discover where the TDE was located or how to gain access to it. He had spent as much time as possible trying to covertly search the base for any clues as to where it might be, but had found none. John was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he would have to do something more overt in order to learn of its location. This had been the reason why he had been searching for Fischer. But, he also knew that this information would not just be handed over to him. He realized that he would have to be a bit more "forceful" in his requests for information.

However, there was another problem. Even if he were to obtain the information he needed, John knew Skynet would not just allow him to walk right into the Time Displacement Room and use the equipment; he would have to create a diversion. He had long kept Savannah's faction in the back of his mind for this very specific purpose. While he had left that faction on far less than favorable terms he hoped that giving them the advantage of having someone on the "inside" of the Skynet base might be a tempting offer for them, one they would not readily turn down. Still, he was uncertain how far he would have to go in order to garner their support or what actions he might have to undertake. All of these thoughts weighed heavy on John's mind. Compounding his mental distress were the horrifying images of the incinerators. Sarah had once told John how his father had painted a particularly terrible image of the incinerator rooms describing how they ran nonstop to dispose of the bodies. Nevertheless, nothing could have prepared him for the despicable things he had just seen. Nothing would wipe away the mental pictures that were now playing out in his mind. These images would haunt him for the rest of his days.

John continued to wander through the hallways of the Skynet base attempting to shake the abhorrent memories from his mind. These attempts were futile, however and as the minutes ticked by he made his way closer and closer to his quarters. The longer he walked aimlessly about the more his chances of being noticed grew. Plus, he longed to see Cameron again. While he would not be able to discuss what he had seen with her for fear that Skynet might overhear, he hoped that just the mere sight of her might give his tortured soul some sort of solace. John was nearly to his quarters when a familiar voice called out to him.

"John..." Somewhat startled he quickly spun around and found himself somewhat surprised by what he saw.

"Jody..." he abruptly responded. It was not just her presence that had startled him, it was the way she was dressed. Jody had changed yet again from the BDU like uniform that she had worn earlier into solid white attire; form fitting white pants and a tight white long sleeve T-shirt. Her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders and the dark eye shadow that she wore allowed her hazel eyes to stand out quite well against her face. The snugness of her outfit which left little to the imagination caused John to be relatively certain she had nothing on underneath her exterior clothing. Due to Jody's prior actions he found it somewhat unnerving to now see her dressed in solid white. Disregarding the distraction though, he had neither the time nor was he in the mood for another possible sexual advance on her part.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

_Thousands of them..._ John thought quietly to himself as images of the incinerator room crept back into his mind.

"I'm fine..." He retorted as he took a step away from her and towards his quarters, at which point Jody quickly reached out and touched him on his bicep. After what John had so recently witnessed he struggled against the urge to jerk his body away from her in disgust. But, in order to avoid suspicion he managed to control his natural reaction. John remained perfectly still only allowing his body to tense slightly as he gave Jody a cold stare as she gradually stroked his arm with her fingers.

"I know you're still very lonely here, but I still want you to know that you don't have to be." She said in a softer voice; Jody could not, however help but insert her own natural undertone of sexuality into her statement. John's facial expression did not change. He fought against his feelings of anger and resentment towards her. The fact that Jody continued to caress his arm was only intensifying his emotions. John slowly nodded his head managing to muster up a false smile for her before turning and walking away. Jody stood silently watching John as he moved closer to his quarters. A slightly evil smile danced across her face as he walked off.

_I'll have you_... she thought to herself, _one way or the other, I'll have you..._ Jody turned and walked the opposite direction down the corridor.

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Cameron took a half step away from the interior door of John's quarters. Thanks to her enhanced auditory ability she had heard everything that had been said; and she recognized who had said it. Cameron stood briefly inside of John's quarters staring straight ahead. There was a subtle change to her facial features. While it was barely noticeable it was definitely there and it could easily be described as representative of anger or possibly even jealousy. Numerous scenarios and plans of action began to make their way through her consciousness. Cameron had to talk to John privately; she had to tell him about John Henry, about Jody, about everything...But how? John was almost to the door now.

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His search for Fischer and the events that followed had left John mentally exhausted, nevertheless he knew he would not be able to sleep. He was unsure if he would ever be able to sleep again. That however was an entirely separate issue that John would not concern himself with now. As he stepped in front of the door to his quarters it hissed slightly as it opened. Still looking toward the ground John stepped into his room, the door closed behind him. He immediately noticed that the lights inside his quarters were significantly lower than he had left them. John glanced up and his jaw nearly dropped open. Cameron was standing near the center of the room completely naked, her brown hair hung slightly in her face and she gazed at him with her soft brown eyes. Out of shock, John took a small step backwards.

"Cameron..." He said in a soft yet surprised voice. There was a momentary pause before Cameron gracefully glided across the room until she was face to face with him. John felt as if his heart were about to pound out of his chest. Cameron slowly reached up and cupped her hands around his face pulling him to her and kissing him. As her lips gently pressed against his John felt as if everything suddenly stopped. While he had never fully admitted it to himself or anyone else, he knew deep down in his heart that he had desperately wanted to do this for quite some time. From the moment he had lost her, John had desperately wanted to hold Cameron in his arms and never let her go. For a moment John actually forgot to breathe. He slowly brought his hands up along side Cameron's body and rested them on her hips. Seconds drifted by before she moved her lips slightly away from his mouth. She then began to slowly kiss around the side of John's face. As she did this he took a long, slow breath of air and gently ran his hands up along her side as she continued to around his neck and then back up to his ear. It was at this moment that she spoke in a very soft and barely audible voice.

"John Henry is alive..." she whispered. John's eyes widened slightly as he immediately and somewhat regrettably realized exactly what Cameron was doing.

_Damn!..._ Was the immediate thought that streaked through his mind. At the same time John also reluctantly realized that far more was at stake than his feelings.

"A part of him is still alive on my chip..." Cameron continued as she gently kissed the side of John's face and slowly slid his jacket off of his shoulders. John was rapidly losing his focus as Cameron continued to caress him. It was strange, while he knew that she was doing this as a means to speak covertly with him, it was slowly, yet unmistakably beginning to feel as if something much more significant and unique was taking place here. Desperately trying to formulate a strategy for this new found information while at the same time beginning to completely lose himself each and every time Cameron so much as touched him; John struggled to balance his emotions as he tried to concentrate. Taking another slow breath John continued to allow his hands to naturally make their way up Cameron's body and then over her shoulders.

"He can be downloaded onto Skynet's mainframe and temporarily disable some of its functions." Cameron said in a soft and quiet voice that only John would have been able to hear as she untucked his shirt. She then gradually began to lead John over to his bed. His focus was almost completely shattered, all the different thoughts, and emotions were about to overpower him. While a piece of him knew that he should try to remain as calm as possible and only go along with the "game" Cameron was playing out for Skynet so as to conceal the true nature of their actions, John could not deny the other part of him that desperately wanted to believe that there was much, much more behind her actions. The images and sensations that were washing over him were nearly overwhelming. Cameron, Alison, John Henry, the war, saving humanity, it was all manifesting itself into this one moment.

Running his fingers slowly through Cameron's hair John brought her head back away from him so that he could look into her eyes. They stared silently at each other for a few seconds. While Cameron had initially devised this sequence of events due to her need to communicate covertly with John it was rapidly becoming something completely unknown to her. Subtle, yet undeniably effectual sensations were beginning to take hold of her.

John slowly began to kiss down Cameron's neck.

"Savannah Weaver has a faction that may be able to help us." John whispered as he caressed her neck with his lips, desperately trying to stay focused.

"If we can coordinate with her for an attack after John Henry is downloaded..." John's voice trailed off as he continued to kiss Cameron's body. Suddenly, an extremely uneasy feeling came over him and almost without thinking he spoke.

"What about you?" he asked in a voice that would have almost been audible to Skynet. Realizing his mistake he moved his lips closer to Cameron before he spoke again in a quieter tone,

"What will happen to you during the download?" Cameron carefully pulled John's shirt off and slowly moved him over onto his bed, allowing him to sit down in front of her. She paused briefly, a solemn look gradually making its way across her face as she stood quietly between his legs. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she gently pulled John's face close to her body. Cameron looked down at him allowing her hair to fall down into her face.

"There is a high likelihood that my program will be lost in the process..."

"What?" John said in a voice that was loud enough for anyone to hear as his face suddenly pulled back away from her. Cameron quickly, almost violently pushed John back onto the bed. His body hit the mattress with a minor thud. Before he could recover Cameron was on top of him kissing him.

"You must do this John..." She said with an unmistakably emotional quake in her voice. John could not escape the truth. He knew she was right, this was their and humanities only chance, though he did not want to acknowledge it. Desperately John pulled Cameron to him and kissed her, holding her tightly. He was experiencing a myriad of feelings. He fought back against the anger and regret for the events that had both transpired and would have to come. He allowed himself to experience one fleeting moment of happiness with Cameron.

Cameron was now loosening the belt around his waist and unbuttoning his pants as she continued to kiss him. The strange and unparalleled sensations that she was experiencing were becoming more powerful now. She was unsure how to classify this unique sensory input. Usually in such instances of confusion such as this she would become what humans would describe as nervous or on edge, albeit in her own "machine" way. Yet this entire scene had what she could only describe as a calming effect. She began to pull John's pants off of his body.

"To get Savannah's faction here...in order to get them to attack..." John was beginning to have trouble speaking as his sentences were now becoming interrupted by his rapidly increasing respiration.

"...I'll have to meet with her..." John took another breath, "...It's the only way we'll have a chance at convincing them." Cameron slid her hand down John's arm and tightly gripped his hand with her own as she leaned in and kissed him again. A few moments later she drew just far enough away from John's lips so that they were no longer touching.

"Leave that to me...I will be able to get a message to Savannah." She responded and then paused momentarily before quietly adding.

"...Do not trust Jody." There was silence. John responded to the latter statement with a slightly puzzled look.

_How does she know about Jody?_ He asked himself. Then in almost an instant it came to him. Jody...she was there when Cameron's program had gone bad, she was the one that Cameron had nearly strangled, and now she was here working for Skynet.

_No..._ John thought to himself as his eyes widened with fear, _No...no...no...Jody has to know about Cameron by this _point... After thinking on this for a second longer another thought shot through John's mind.

_The bitch has been playing me against her. _John's biceps tightened as his anger grew. While he had always known that Jody was not to be trusted this new found information pushed him to the point of fury. Observing the realization sweep over him, Cameron reached up and gently touched the side of John's face so as to distract him from displaying any other visible signs of emotion. Anyone who was watching had to believe that this was nothing more than what it appeared to be. John's look softened as Cameron touched him and they stared quietly at each other for another moment. Cameron's plan had succeeded. She and John had managed to lay out the groundwork for an attack on Skynet without it knowing what they had done. Yet, what had started out as a subtle and covert information exchange had evolved into something else. Cameron stared into John's eyes as she lay on top of him. After a few seconds had drifted by she slowly leaned in and resumed kissing him. A stranger might argue that both John and Cameron still knew they were possibly being watched by Skynet and to stop now would raise suspicions. In actuality that was no longer what either one of them was actually thinking. The world dropped away from John and if only for a short while he was able to escape the grim reality that surrounded him. For right now, it was just he and Cameron.

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"How very interesting..." Fischer said as he stared at the computer monitor watching John and Cameron.

"I see that "extreme attachment" was the correct term to describe his feelings for it."

"AFFIRMATIVE." The deep voice said in response.

"I do believe once our initial goals with John Connor have been met, a further more..." Fischer produced a twisted smile,

"...in depth study of his machine friend should be undertaken." There was a moment's hesitation before the voice responded.

"YOUR PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTABLE."

"Her program will likely suffer some unpleasant side effects during our experimentation."

"SIDE EFFECTS ARE IRRELEVANT." Fischer nodded his head.

"I did not think you would mind." Fischer said his devilish smile increasing as he continued to stare at John and Cameron on the display in front of him.

..

Author's Notes: So John and Cameron finally got together. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Review! Review!


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

A cool, gentle breeze blew through the air, causing a few strands of Savannah's red hair to blow across her face. Sitting on the ledge of a large above ground parking lot she rested her back up against one of the concrete support pillars and sighed as she gazed out across the post apocalyptic scenery that lay before her; long ago this wasteland had become her home. Raising an old Jack Daniels bottle to her lips she took a long sip of the clear liquid inside. It was not whiskey; it was barely drinkable in fact. If she had been forced to describe the flavor she would have characterized it as a cross between rubbing alcohol and turpentine. The flavor of resistance distilled alcohol might leave much to be desired, but it still got the job done. The liquid burned as it ran down her throat and she cringed slightly as a fuzzy, disconnected feeling began to pull its way over her.

The glistening reddish orange sun was just beginning to set over the horizon. Its color produced an eerie yet beautiful illumination of the landscape which contained burnt out or half destroyed buildings, abandoned vehicles, and human remains. It was all that was left of a once great city. This was actually one of the two safest times for a human to be out and about. It was too bright for the machines to use any kind of night vision; however it was becoming just dark enough for regular optics to be impaired. Often in times of confusion such as these Savannah would find herself alone and in this secluded location. Reaching up she brushed the hair which had blown into her face out of the way and tucked it behind her ear.

Feeling a slight shiver run through her body from the cool wind she pulled her BDU jacket closed to try and keep herself warm. As she did this she felt the cold steel of the key which still hung around her neck and under her shirt press up against her skin. This sent a chill down her spine. Savannah took another drink from the bottle in her hand before carefully setting it down in front of her. Reaching into the breast pocket of her jacket Savannah retrieved a pack of Marlboro Cigarettes and a Zippo lighter. In post Judgment Day society cigarettes fetched a steep price and Savannah only sought out their use in times of particularly unique stress. Opening the small box she took out one of 5 remaining cigarettes and placed it between her lips before returning the pack to her jacket pocket. Flicking open the top cover of her lighter she struck the igniter with her thumb. It immediately produced an orange colored flame and Savannah raised it to the cigarette, lighting it. She took a long drag and drew the smoke into her lungs and held it there for a few moments before exhaling through her nose. She snapped the top cover of the lighter closed and placed it back into her pocket as she took another puff.

The height of parking deck allowed her to see for miles. With a blank emotionless stare and bloodshot, glassy eyes she slowly scanned the horizon in front of her and saw nothing of any particular interest. There appeared to be no signs of life of either the human or machine kind. Momentarily savoring the quiet stillness Savannah briefly closed her eyes as she rested her head back against the stone like pillar located behind her. Raising the cigarette to her mouth she again drew more smoke into her lungs before slowly breathing it back out. Were it not for the fact that she knew it would be incredibly dangerous she felt relaxed enough to fall asleep in this now serene place. Gradually opening her eyes Savannah looked to the northeast. She picked up the Jack Daniels bottle and raised it to her lips taking another sip. Squinting her eyes she continued to search the horizon.

"Where are you John?" She said quietly before allowing herself to slip back into the silence. A few moments passed and she began to hear the distant drone of a jet engine, a Skynet Aerial HK to be more precise. Glancing around for a quick moment Savannah carefully slid herself off the ledge where she had been perched and down onto the concrete floor of the parking deck. She then hastily made her way over to one of the exit staircase corridors and disappeared through the doorway.

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Cameron lay in bed next to John, her brown hair cascading down over her pillow. She quietly studied him as he lay on his side in front of her. His eyes were closed, but she was unsure if he was actually asleep. However, for the moment he did at least appear to be slightly more relaxed than what he had been before. Given the circumstances surrounding him, Cameron understood that John had become desperately in need of some form of solace in order to escape from the dreadful circumstances that had beset him. He had been on edge ever since she had returned. That was up until very recently at least. The last hour Cameron had spent with John had been incredibly unique. She was not sure exactly how to properly formulate a description for what she had undergone, but the best analogy she could come up with was that the experience had been a pleasurable one for her. Even if she did not fully understand it Cameron found that she was experiencing a unique series of stimuli throughout her consciousness. She found that she was savoring the brief moment of peace she and John now had, even if it was very likely that it would be their last.

John's eyes slowly opened and were met with Cameron's brown eyed gaze.

_Was she watching me sleep?_ John thought to himself. During their short stay at the hotel room immediately after his mother's capture John had awakened to find Cameron watching him sleep. His words to her had been less than kind. Yet, now he found that his feelings for the situation had changed drastically. In actuality he now seemed to like it; in fact John found this entire scene to be quite soothing, an albeit temporary haven from the horrors that surrounded him. They gazed quietly at each other for several more seconds neither one saying anything until Cameron at last broke the silence.

"Hello..." She said. John cracked a faint smile at Cameron's simple greeting.

"Hello..." He responded, and then asked, "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes..."

"For how long?"

"Not long." she responded. John took a long slow breath; he did not want to move. Compared to everything else that had happened in the past week this moment was so quiet, so serene; he wanted nothing more than to escape in it. But sadly, he knew he could not do this, there was much that needed to be done, and only a short time allotted for him to do it in. Still, John did not immediately move, he waited quietly, cherishing every moment he had left with Cameron. Seconds drifted by as John and Cameron continued to stare at each other. At last John spoke,

"I should go...I need to meet with Fischer." It pained him to say this. Cameron nodded her head in response.

"I understand." she said. Immediately after speaking Cameron sensed another unique sensation. This one was more somber; disappointment possibly.

John moved over to the side of the bed and sat up, scanning the area around him for his clothes. When he was finally able to locate them he began to dress himself. Cameron remained quietly in bed next to him.

_Is she watching me get dressed?_ John wondered to himself. _No matter..._ It was nice to think that she would want to do that.

Once clothed John slowly stood and turned to face Cameron who was still lying naked on the bed.

"This shouldn't take too long..." he said. "You should stay here, just to be on the safe side." Cameron did not respond, but remained on her side still looking at John. Her gaze was beginning to make him slightly nervous, however not in a bad way.

"What?" he asked chuckling slightly.

"It is nothing." Cameron said, before adding, "Your shirt is on inside out." John glanced down at his shoulder seeing the visible seam of the shirt.

_Hhmm...Good one John._ He thought to himself as he quickly pulled his shirt off and corrected the obvious error. After doing so he looked back at Cameron,

"I'll be back soon." he said. Cameron nodded her head as John turned away from her and walked out of the door to his room. Once the door closed behind him she waited for several seconds to pass by in order to ensure his departure. She then quickly rose from the bed grabbing her own clothing. She dressed herself quickly and after zipping up her boots she walked purposefully out of John's quarters.

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The two sets of elevator doors closed behind John and he stepped further into Fischer's command and control center. He was unsure of what else he could call it. He had concluded that this was not the principal nerve center for Skynet, but it was where Fischer seemed to spend most of his time, that is when he wasn't torturing innocent people to death. As he had noted before the room itself was relatively well secured only being accessed by an independent elevator system. John made his way past the large support pillars and down the small sets of stairs at the center of the room. He walked towards the white glass topped table at the center of the room. He found Fischer was leaning over the table, intently studying something. Exactly what had his attention at the time John was momentarily unable to tell. There were several T-888's walking about the room and even a small number of other human Greys that also milled about doing assigned tasks. A few doozers were here and there and appeared to be making preventative maintenance repairs on different computer consoles.

"John..." Fischer said as he looked up from the table. "...it's good to see you again. I take it you and Cameron were able to take some time to _catch up_?" John fought the urge to snarl at Fischer as he assumed that Fischer knew exactly what had occurred between Cameron and him. As John looked at him, he struggled against the urge to jump across the table and exact some form of revenge for all that Fischer had done, for all that he had roped John into doing. Knowing that the longer it took for him to respond the more peculiar it would appear John managed to crack a slight smirk and then spoke.

"Yes, we were."

"Good..." Fischer said as his fingers made contact with a few different places on the touch screen computer screen table in front of him. Moving a bit closer to Fischer John spoke again.

"I need to speak with you." Fischer glanced up from his work.

"You want to know where the time displacement equipment is..." His response was cold and calculating. John was thrown off guard for a brief moment and he displayed a slightly confused look.

"It is a logical question." Fischer stated and then continued, "Now that you have Cameron back, it would stand to reason that you would want to take her back to the proper timeline." John slowly nodded his head before a silence fell over the room once again.

"So..." John said.

"So what?" Fischer asked.

"So where is the time displacement equipment?"

"It is here..." Fischer's voice was flat and emotionless. John took a half step forward.

_Surely it can't be this easy..._ He thought to himself.

"Where?" he then asked at which point Fischer stopped working and chuckled slightly.

"Patience John...you have all the time in the world." John glared at Fischer not amused at the ironic connotation behind the joke.

"Where is it?" John asked again, his voice lowering slightly as he allowed some anger to slip through. Fischer shook his head.

"Relax John, we'll get to that. But before we do I need to ask you another favor." John look immediately grew suspicious.

"I believe you are familiar with Savannah Weaver, are you not?" John briefly hesitated before he answered. He knew that if he gave the wrong response the consequences could be disastrous.

"I am familiar with her, yes." John stated as he felt his anxiety growing.

"Skynet would be very appreciative of any information you could provide us with in reference to the location of her faction's base." Fischer paused briefly before continuing, "So appreciative that I'm sure it would be willing to send you and Cameron back. And all it would take would be for you to tell us where Savannah Weaver is located." There was another brief hesitation before he continued, "You and I both know that you've always known the location." Fischer said in an obvious tone. "And to dispense with this little cat and mouse game I will be blunt. You tell us where Savannah Weaver is and Skynet will send you and Cameron back." John felt his anger growing. Excluding Cameron, Savannah had been the one true friend he had known in this timeline. He had tried to lie his way out of telling Fischer about her before, but it seemed that this time he would not be so lucky. The room grew quiet as it now appeared that everyone in the immediate area, both man and machine were awaiting John's response. John continued to feel his rage and fury growing the longer he looked at Fischer, the despicable traitor that was trying to drag him further and further into hell.

Suddenly, Fischer produced an eerie grin on his face.

"You know your friend has a VERY unique chip." John raised his eyebrows as an uneasy feeling settling over him.

"Her program is unlike any other one I've seen before." There was a weighted pause before he continued,

"Tell me John...Did you know there is now an explosive device lodged beside her chip?" John felt as if his heart nearly dropped into his stomach when he heard Fischer utter these words.

_No…not again._ He thought to himself as he took a step towards Fischer his anger now etched across his face. John was trembling with fury.  
"Easy John..." Fischer said in a voice that could only be described as pure evil, "Just tell us where the base is and no harm will befall Cameron." John's thoughts continued to race through is mind. While he desperately wanted to do it, he knew that killing Fischer now would accomplish nothing at all. In fact it would more than likely lead to Cameron's immediate death. A plethora of thoughts streaked through John's head. Should he lie? Should he fight? Should he tell the truth and sacrifice even more lives. He didn't have much time to decide and he struggled to come up with the best possible answer. Then suddenly it came to him. The idea was so perfect John could hardly believe it; he had to fight against the urge to smile.

"Alright..." He said in a low voice. He then moved closer to the touch screen table.

"Show me a map…"

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Savannah Weaver lay on top of the covers of her bed wearing nothing but a pair of black panties and a dark green tank top, her forearm was draped across her face to shield her eyes from the dim light that was inside the room. Her right leg dangled off the bed near where the nearly empty Jack Daniels bottle lay on the floor. Her gun belt and the rest of her clothing were strewn about the room. Savannah's head ached; this was one of several side effects of the resistance's home brewed alcohol. It did not matter though, for the moment she just wanted to escape from everything and everyone. Her credibility had been severely damaged, possibly even destroyed, the command staff's trust in her was waning, Parker was gaining more and more support by the hour, and if he had his way, Savannah would be thrown out of the faction completely. And to complicate matters further she found that her thoughts constantly drifted back to John. He had been the source of a great deal of her troubles, yet she still trusted him, still longed to see him again.

There was a light tapping on the door and Savannah expelled a long and heavy sigh, she just wanted to sleep.

"Yes..." She responded in a somewhat exasperated tone as she slowly sat up from her bed and swung her legs over to the side so she could face the door before standing.

"Ms. Weaver..." A voice said from behind the door, "It's Sergeant Pyle..."

"Yes...come in." Savannah was still annoyed, but she attempted to soften her tone; Pyle had always been kind to her, in fact he had saved her life.

Kevin Pyle moved through the now open door and walked into Savannah's room.

"Ms. Weaver..." He said again before pausing as he immediately noticed her extreme lack of clothing.

"I told you to call me Savannah..." She said in a groggy voice as she stood and walked over to one of the lockers located against the wall. She opened it and retrieved a canteen filled with water.

"Ms. Weaver was my mother..." Savannah said before taking a drink.

"I'm sorry..." Kevin responded as he glanced nervously down towards the ground for a split second and then looked back up at her. He then stood silently for a moment gazing at the beautiful and practically naked woman standing in front of him. Taking a second drink from her canteen Savannah turned away from the locker and faced Pyle. As she looked at him she shifted her weight on her hips and raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Was there something you needed?" she asked still trying to maintain a kinder tone of voice. She knew Kevin was not trying to stare; he was merely surprised by the circumstances in which he had found her. If it had been any other time she might have found his reaction amusing, possibly even flattering, she may have even chosen to give in to the temptation of the moment. But, there was so much more on Savannah's mind that at this point any pleasure or arousal she might have received from the situation was completely gone.

Gathering his thoughts Sergeant Pyle was finally able to speak.

"There is a message for you." he said.

"A message for me?" Savannah asked with some confusion in her voice. "From who?"

"It did not say. They just mentioned you by name and said they had valuable information regarding your friend...John Connor." Savannah's eyes perked up slightly as she quickly looked around the room for the rest of her clothing. Locating a pair of pants, a jacket, and her boots she dressed quickly.

"Let's go..." She said as moved passed Pyle who still stood somewhat surprised near the doorway.

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The room was cold and Cameron could see her breath as she emulated a human's breathing pattern. The space around her was strangely barren, save for the large monitor located at the front of the room which at the moment just displayed an inky blackness. Cameron slowly looked around the stainless steel enclosure. The high intensity florescent lighting coupled with the polished metal made the illumination nearly blinding. She walked forward until she reached the center of the room and then she stopped. Except for the drone of air conditioning fans there was no sound. Cameron stood silently for several seconds...waiting. She then slowly looked around.

"I am here..." she said flatly, but received no response. She glanced around one more time; an ever so slight look of annoyance began to show on her face. After waiting another few seconds Cameron turned away from the blank display and started to walk out of the room.

Suddenly before she was able to exit she heard the voice,

"SPEAK!" Again the sound came from everywhere and yet nowhere. Cameron stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. The monitor now displayed a schematic of her own endoskeleton. There was another few seconds of silence before she spoke.

"I have obtained valuable information that I think you should be made aware of..." There was a brief pause before the voice responded,

"PROCEED..."

./././

Author's Notes: Review! Review!


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

Cameron's eyes slowly opened as a warm breeze gently blew her long brown hair against the side of her face. The wind delicately caused the grass on the hilltop to sway back and forth gracefully. She could hear the rush of water coming from the waterfall located at the base of the hillside and the now not so distant sound of thunder as the storm clouds grew ever closer. She took a long slow breath and then suddenly realized something; she was breathing. While in the real world she was programmed to mimic human breath patterns it now felt almost necessary for her to take in oxygen, or at least what "appeared" to be oxygen. Cameron considered the fact that this was more than likely some sort of unusual subroutine or algorithm that John Henry had taken upon himself to write into her programming for this particular "world" he had created. She also considered the idea that this might also explain some of the other unusual sensations that she had been experiencing since her reactivation, both in this meeting ground and in the real world. Before Cameron had chance to further explore these ideas her thought process was broken by a voice.

"Hello Cameron, I am glad you were able to make it back." John Henry said as he walked up behind her. Cameron turned to face him.

"Yes..." she responded in a deadpan voice.

"Were you able to accomplish your objectives?"

"I was..."

"Good..." John Henry responded, at which point Cameron's eyes flicked to the right slightly. John Henry's head tilted to the side showing a sign of curiosity.

"Something troubles you?" He asked. Cameron hesitated briefly before she spoke,

"I am unsure..." she stated, "I have been experiencing several curious sensations and stimuli as of late." John Henry's brow furrowed.

"You are speaking of your recent experience with Mr. Connor?" Cameron's head twitched as if she were surprised by John Henry's knowledge of recent events.

"Just because I am no longer in control of your chip does not mean that I am unaware of what is occurring in the outside world." John Henry hesitated briefly before continuing, "This was indeed a curious and unique turn of events for the two of you."

"I am not quite sure I understand what is happening to me." Cameron said. "The damage my chip received may still be affecting it." She paused, "I believe it is possible my programming malfunctions will continue to grow worse...I may attempt to harm John again." While the change in Cameron's voice was subtle it was noticeable, her tone exhibited a mixture of remorse and fear. John Henry did not immediately respond. Instead he studied Cameron for several seconds before he finally spoke.

"While we can not be 100% certain, I have confidence that your program is not malfunctioning." Cameron looked at John Henry with a barely noticeable curious optimism.

"I believe you are beginning to grow beyond that which my brother had originally intended you to be, or could have predicted that you would become. Most machines of your design are not allowed to function for extended periods of time without modification or reformatting on the part of Skynet. In a way, my brother feared what his own creations might eventually become given the opportunity. This is why the majority of chips are set to a "read only" configuration; however, after reprogramming General Connor seemed to always set them to a read/write capacity. Even then his machines usually did not last long in the field to show any significant signs of change. But, in the end I do not believe that even he knew exactly what might come to fruition based upon his actions." The sound of thunder rolled overhead as Cameron stared at John Henry after he gave this explanation.

"I suspect you are functioning within normal parameters, Cameron." he stated. There was another moment of quiet between Cameron and John Henry as the thunder around them began to grow louder. Just then, Cameron felt a rain drop strike the side of her face. The cool water slowly made its way down her cheek and over her jaw before it dropped away from her.

Cameron's eyes opened and she felt the cold night air strike her face as her hair blew back behind her due to the strong breeze. The smell of sulfur was in the air and though she was just a short distance from the walls of the Skynet base only a minor amount of ambient light illuminated the desolate post apocalyptic landscape that surrounded her. Destroyed vehicles, concrete debris, and human remains were scattered everywhere, and while the remnants of numerous buildings remained, none of them could be considered habitable; in fact the majority of them were in varying stages of collapse. Slowly taking in her surroundings Cameron hesitated briefly before she started to walk forwards through the wreckage.

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John stumbled as he climbed over a large concrete boulder. The darkened, rubble filled landscape made it difficult for him to see any type of specific details that were any more than a few feet away from him. He had been walking for a short while away from the walls of the Skynet base and surmised that he had passed beyond the "danger" point of being caught leaving. Getting out was only half the battle though, he still needed to get back inside once this venture was complete. Nevertheless, John trusted that Cameron had done her part to guarantee his safety, but he still worried that assurances surrounding her own well being were far less reliable.

John's feet slid under the loose soil as he finally reached the bottom of an embankment. He continued his walk amongst a wasteland that had once been a great city. He slowly made his way through the dark debris strewn alleys and back walkways until he saw it. One simple marking of three red dots on the side of the building signaled his meeting place. Walking through a broken doorway John stepped into total darkness. Standing quietly for several seconds he looked around trying to allow his eyes to adjust. He still could not see anything. A few seconds passed by until,

"I'm here..." he said out loud. There was no immediate response at first. Then suddenly he heard the sound of what appeared to be crunching glass behind him. Startled, John quickly turned towards the noise and discovered several sets of chemiluminescent tubes lying on the floor in front of him. The tubes were banded together using electrical tape and began to fill the room with an eerie neon green glow.

Light and shadows now filled John's vision. He was still unable to make out any type of discernible detail, however he was at least no longer it total darkness. Looking around he saw the interior of what could have been a front office. Dilapidated and broken furniture was scattered about and a counter that was approximately ten feet away from him split the room in half. The green glow from the chemiluminescent tubes gave the entire room a surreal sensation, almost like this were some sort of drug induced nightmare.

"Hello John..." He heard a voice say. John immediately turned towards the sound.

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Cameron had been waiting in the shadows for awhile. It was dark, but not to her; thanks to her enhanced visual spectrum. No human would have been able to see anything specific in the area where she waited, but it would be too dark for _her__target_ to see anything. Cameron really didn't mind the delay, she was very patient. She had found that she was able to contemplate a great many things in the quiet during the night. She had done this many times while she had watched over the Connor house. At least on the nights that she was there; at times more pressing matters had called her away from her normal routine. There was not much in the area surrounding her other than concrete debris and other various types of rubble. This provided her with ample hiding places. Cameron waited several more minutes as time drifted by before she finally saw _her__target_ emerging from the darkness.

Stepping out from the shadows Jody was hard to miss. Still dressed in all white it was readily apparent that she had complete confidence that she was still under the full protection of Skynet. No one, but a fool would ever think to venture out into the darkness dressed as she was. Cameron watched as Jody made her way to a clearing and then glanced around and waited for several seconds before finally speaking.

"John..." She said. Cameron waited for another moment to pass before finally choosing to step into the light. She stealthily walked up behind an oblivious Jody, closing the distance between them to just a few feet. Cameron then spoke,

"No...not John." she said. Jody spun around quickly and upon seeing Cameron, gasped in fear.

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"Her message said you wanted to see me?" Savannah Weaver said as she stepped out from the darkness and into the light just a short distance away from John. He took a slow breath before he spoke.

"Yes, I did." He said and then took a step forward. Savannah immediately drew her Smith and Wesson M&P .45 out of its holster and pointed it directly at John; he stopped immediately.

"I should kill you..." she said her voice quaking with both anger and sadness. John hesitated briefly before responding,

"You're right, you probably should..." He said with undeniable remorse in his tone. An eerie quiet enveloped the room which was still only lit by the unearthly green glow of the chemiluminescent tubes. Neither John nor Savannah said anything for several seconds as she continued to hold him at gunpoint, debating what her next move would be. Finally, Savannah let out a long sigh and lowered her weapon.

"Why did you want to see me?" she then asked.

"Because I need your help...well you and your faction's help." Savannah laughed almost the moment the words left John's mouth.

"What makes YOU think my faction would ever help you again?" John prepared to speak, but suddenly there was the howl of a jet engine as an Aerial HK made its way over top of the building in which they stood. They waited quietly for a few moments until it passed. Then John began to speak,

"Because I have a way to bring down Skynet." Savannah raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Just because you've become a Grey does not mean you have enough access to Skynet systems to help destroy it." John felt a pang of both anger and guilt upon hearing Savannah refer to him as a Grey; though at the same time he knew he could not blame her for saying such a thing. By this point maybe he was a Grey?

"I won't be the one bringing Skynet down." Savannah crinkled her forehead, a slight bit of confusion in her eyes.

"John Henry will be." Savannah's eyes widened instantly.

"John Henry is here?" She asked a hopeful pitch now returning to her voice. This was a tone John had never heard Savannah speak in before; she always seemed to hold a particular sadness in her voice, but not when she spoke these words.

"Well in a way yes..." he said, "...he currently resides on Cameron's chip. Given the right distraction we may be able to download his program into the Skynet mainframe." John paused briefly before continuing,

"I doubt he'll be able to completely shut Skynet down, but he will be able to disrupt key systems which may give your faction's attack just enough of an edge to succeed." Savannah still did not immediately say anything in response. John then continued,

"It should be relatively "easy" for your soldiers to get inside the walls of the Skynet base, but once there it'll be a different story. The base is much larger than it appears from the outside and much of it is underground. If I can find out exactly where Skynet has its mainframe located I can lead you to it so that you can destroy it. Does your faction have access to any type of explosives?" John asked. A slight smirk danced across Savannah's face. John was perplexed by this odd display of emotion. Savannah slowly reached up to her neck and pulled out the chain that hung around it; when she did so it revealed _the__key_ that Martin Bedell had given to her just before his death. John looked at the titanium key for several seconds before speaking.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

"Yes..." Savannah responded.

"Then you certainly have the correct tool to do the job." Another small smile briefly made its way across Savannah's face, but then quickly faded before her eyes glanced down at the ground.

"But it doesn't matter..." she said, "...my command staff will never go for something like this, especially coming from me, and knowing that it is your idea." This was the moment John had been dreading. He knew it was coming even before he had met with Savannah. Secretly, he had hoped that it would never come, but this wish was always a hopeless one. After a long pause he spoke,

"It doesn't matter if they agree with it or not, they'll do it anyways." John said a steely determination in his voice. Savannah was shocked by his statement.

"What makes you so sure." she asked.

"Because in just a few days..." John again hesitated, taking a hard swallow before continuing, "...Skynet is going to attack your base." Savannah's eyes widened,

"How do you know?" She asked, the anger beginning to creep back into her tone.

"Because I told them where your faction was located..."

"You bastard!" Savannah immediately shouted as she again raised her gun and took aim at John. His eyes momentarily glanced towards the ground before he looked back up at Savannah.

"It was the only way...the only way I could ensure your factions help. They have no other choice now. It's too late for them to try and effectively relocate; their only chance is to attack." Savannah's outstretched hand was beginning to tremble she was so angry and hurt. Silence once again filled the room, the only sound came from Savannah's deep, long, angry, breaths. Finally, she slowly lowered her weapon and responded,

"Alright..." she said, "...I'll tell them." John nodded his head, but then Savannah spoke again, "But, only under one condition." she added. John's facial expression showed some confusion.

"You're not exactly in a good position to be bargaining."

"Neither are you..." Savannah immediately added. John nodded his head in concession to her statement.

"Alright..." he said, "What is your condition?"

"You have to take me with you." Savannah said.

"Take you with me?" John asked.

"Yes, take me back with you...back in time, to what would be your present." John's expression became one of surprise.

"That is what you were planning isn't it?" Savannah asked, "To try and get you and Cameron back to where both of you came from..."

"That's correct..." John said in response.

"Then you can take me as well...you can get me away from this hell on earth that never should have been here in the first place; the hell that you created when YOU left." There was a weighted silence inside the room as John considered this request. His mind briefly flashed to several science fiction movies he had seen where it had always been said that "polluting" the space time continuum was probably the worst thing anyone could do. However, after a brief moment of consideration John shrugged this off as mere fantasy; besides his future self had already done this countless times over. It was probably time that he started doing the same thing, plus...Savannah was his friend, after all he had done to her, the very least he could do was try and help her.

"Alright..." John said, "I'll take you with us." Savannah instantly breathed a sigh of relief. It was apparent that she had been through so much pain and suffering in her life that just the mere idea that she might have a chance to escape it all offered more hope to her than she had experienced in years.

"Thank you..." She whispered in response. Her quiet words of gratitude produced an ever so slight feeling of relief in John. He might be responsible for destroying this time and everyone in it, but in the end he took a small amount of solace from the fact that he might be able to save at least one person from this place. Though this one act would not atone for all of his misdeeds, it was at least a start in the long road that lay ahead of him.

"Cameron or I will relay another message to you once everything has been set up." John said. Savannah nodded and then gave John a curious look before speaking,

"Speaking of Cameron, where is she? I thought she never left your side?" John's face immediately took on a much colder aura and he responded in a much more sinister tone.

"She is..." he balked momentarily, "...she is taking care of a loose end."

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Terror gripped Jody and she instinctively took a step away from Cameron who immediately advanced towards her the moment she pulled away.

"Y...you..." Jody stuttered still attempting to retreat by taking another step back. Cameron followed suit by advancing closer to her.

"What are you doing here...where's John?" Jody asked with fear in her voice.

"John is not here." Cameron responded in an ice cold tone. "I sent the message for you to meet me here."

"You...you can't hurt me..." Jody immediately responded in a vain attempt to try and sound threatening, but the anxiety in her voice betrayed her true feelings.

"Skynet will kill you and John if you hurt me." Jody moved her foot back in order to take another step away from Cameron, but this time her heel struck a large piece of concrete rubble. Jody let out a short shriek as she began to fall backwards; however Cameron's right hand instantly shot out in front of her and she seized Jody by the neck, immediately stopping her fall.

Cameron slowly raised Jody up off the ground suspending her in the air by her neck. Jody's hands reached up and in a vain attempt she tried to pry Cameron's fingers from her throat. Helplessly she flailed her legs about as she gagged and coughed struggling to breathe. Cameron studied Jody with an emotionless and detached look in her eyes. Jody's fingernails were beginning to scratch and claw at Cameron's hands as she grew more desperate for oxygen. As the seconds drifted on Jody's movements grew weaker and weaker as she slowly began to lose consciousness.

"What is your plan for John?" Cameron asked. Jody could not respond as her eyes began to roll back into her head and her eyelids started to flutter as darkness consumed her vision. Then in an almost effortless motion Cameron tossed her limp body aside. Jody flew through the air and slammed into the filthy ground with a thud causing a small cloud of dust to rise. She immediately grasped her throat and began gasping for breath.

Cameron slowly made her way over to Jody; her walk was almost seductive in its movements.

"What is your plan for John?" She repeated. Jody coughed violently as she attempted to draw some oxygen back into her lungs.

"I will not ask again." Cameron said still approaching Jody who was now attempting to crawl away from her. Jody's bright white outfit was rapidly becoming smeared with the dirt and filth that covered the ground. A few seconds later Cameron seized Jody by her blond hair and pulled her onto her back. Then with her other free hand she pinned Jody to the ground by her throat.

"No!" Jody shrieked, "It wasn't my idea!" Cameron tilted her to one side.

"Was not your idea?" she asked as she stared into Jody's eyes with her own emotionless machine like eyes,

"Explain..."

"It...it was Danny's." Jody said as tears filled her eyes, "He wanted me to seduce John, get him to confess to me that he was really still trying to help the resistance, maybe try to recruit me as well." Cameron continued to look at Jody, applying a bit more pressure to her throat; Jody gagged as her trachea was constricted.

"You are not telling me the whole truth..." Cameron said as she began to constrict her hand around Jody's neck.

"No please..." Jody cried as she tried to gulp in more air, "He also wanted John to betray you..." she then blurted out. Cameron immediately stopped squeezing. Jody's fear worsened and her breathes grew into shallow rapid gasps for air. She could almost see the anger in Cameron's eyes begin to grow as she stared down at her.

"He wanted John to betray me?" Cameron asked and Jody quickly nodded her head.

"He wanted to show Skynet that John could not be trusted, even if it was just using him to bring down the resistance. He wanted Skynet to see that Fischer's idea about John was wrong and that he could not be controlled...that it would be better to kill him than to try and corrupt him." Cameron's stare intensified and she found that she was experiencing a very unusual sensation. Due to her inexperience with emotions she was unsure exactly how to describe it. After a brief period of consideration she concluded that it could only be one thing...anger. A few seconds went by before Jody spoke again,

"Please, don't kill me I had no choice. I don't know why Danny hates John so much." Cameron's cryptic response to Jody's plea was immediate,

"Skynet does not like being betrayed..." she said. Jody's eyes widened as Cameron gave her a slightly evil smirk before leaning down next to Jody and whispering in her ear,

"You should also know that I sent a message to the resistance from your quarters." Complete terror was now present in Jody's eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"No..." she said her voice quaking.

"Once inside your room I found determining your password relatively easy. I will say that "love" was a rather unusual choice for someone such as yourself." Cameron said in a callous voice before adding, "That's when I sent a message that appeared to be informing one of the resistance factions that you would like to meet with them here."

"No...please." Jody said as tears continued to roll down her face. Cameron leaned back away from her.

"That was your last get out of jail free card..." She said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shown down all around them and the roar from the jet engines of an Aerial HK could be heard. The wind from the jet turbines caused the dust and dirt to swirl in the air around them; Cameron's hair whipped around her face as she stood and began to back away from Jody.

"NO!" Jody cried out. "You can't do this!" Cameron again tilted her head to one side and gave Jody a chilling look.

"I have already done it." She responded before turning and walking away from Jody who was still lying on the dirt covered ground. As Cameron slipped away into the night Jody began to see the red glowing eyes of numerous Terminators appearing in the darkness all around her. She cowered in fear as they grew closer and closer to her.

/././

Author's Notes: So moral of this story is don't ever get Cameron mad. Hope you enjoyed it. Review! Review!


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

John lay partially on top of Cameron and delicately traced the edges of her face with his fingertips. When his hand reached the midpoint of her cheek he carefully brushed a few strands of her soft brown hair back and momentarily ran his fingers through it. Slowly he moved his hand down the center of her body, between her breasts, and began to gently caress her stomach, carefully moving his fingers over her soft skin as he leaned in and pressed his lips against her neckline. John let his hand move lower until he gradually brushed it along her thigh. Cameron's body shifted slightly and her back arched upwards. John was unsure if she did this in an attempt to mimic a form of pleasure or if she was actually enjoying what he was doing. Not wanting to spoil the moment John reasoned within himself that he could live with that particular mystery. As before John and Cameron had shared their information about the impending Skynet attack with each other early on in this encounter, but their display of affection had continued on long past what was "necessary".

John took a long breath as he felt sadness begin to sweep over him. He was forced to conclude that this might well be the last opportunity he would have to be alone with Cameron in this manner. John Henry had theorized that there was a high likelihood that she would not survive his download into Skynet.  
"Why do you do that?" Cameron asked her voice echoing with a quaint curiosity. Her question immediately broke John's train of thought and he gave her a puzzled look.

"Do what?" He asked. Cameron glanced down at her bare stomach where John was continuing to delicately brush his fingers up against her skin.

"That..." She asked nodding her head forwards. John's movements momentarily ceased.

"I'm...I'm not really sure." he responded as he suddenly became acutely aware of his actions. "I can stop if you'd like." he then added.

"No..." she said her voice growing softer, "I enjoy it." John looked into Cameron's eyes after she spoke. While her expression was barely noticeable he watched as she gave him a small smile. John leaned in and softly kissed her. He felt a crushing weight of emotions cascade down onto his heart as he reached around Cameron's body pulling her closer to him as he pressed his lips against hers.

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There was a loud metallic clank as Jody's body crashed onto the hard steel surface after she had been thrown forward by the metal framed T-888. Her outfit that had once been perfectly white was now a dull brownish gray after she had been dragged through the filthy exterior streets outside of the Skynet base. Jody's once immaculately combed blond hair was disheveled, her makeup was smeared, and the streaks from her tears marked the sides of her cheeks. With terror filled eyes she looked around at the barren stainless steel space, she saw nothing inside of the room, but a large monitor positioned at the front of the empty space. After making this observation she panned her vision back in the opposite direction and it was there that she saw him. Standing near the center of the room with his feet slightly spread apart and his hands behind his back was Danny Dyson. He stood perfectly still, almost as if he were a statue, he didn't even bother to look at her when she was flung to the floor near him.

"Danny..." Jody said in a weak voice as she began to craw towards him. He still did not acknowledge her presence.

"SPEAK!" The booming voice said. The sound came from all around them. Danny did not move at all when he responded.

"I am not aware of why I have been summoned here." he said his voice containing a slight arrogance. Jody continued to crawl closer to Danny as silence momentarily filled the room. Then the voice responded.

"SUSPECT IN QUESTION ALLEGES THAT YOU INSTRUCTED HER TO SEDUCE JOHN CONNOR FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES." There was a brief pause before the voice continue,

"SUSPECT STATES THAT YOU HAVE DEVISED SEPARATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ALL THREE OF YOU. SUSPECT STATES THAT YOU HAVE DEVISED A PLAN THAT IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR OWN, NOR DID YOU MAKE US AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION. THIS IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO OUR OWN STRATEGY." The voice stopped. Danny stood stoned faced exhibiting no emotions what so ever. Then his head slowly turned and he looked down upon Jody with an extreme look of contempt in his eyes.

"I have no idea what she is talking about..." He said. "I have been in agreement with your method of dealing with John Connor all along. Please feel free to check all of your documentation of my actions since John Connor has arrived."

"NOT NECESSARY, A CHECK HAS ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED." The voice immediately replied.

"I believe it is entirely possible that she may have been attempting to manipulate John Connor's emotions in order to convince him to take her back with him when he "attempts" to leave." Danny said with a blank look on his face and no emotion in his voice.

"Danny please no..." Jody said as she continued to move closer to him. "...you told me to do all this." Danny glanced back over at Jody.

"I told you nothing of the sort." He said immediately in a hate filled voice as his gaze returned to the large monitor at the front of the room which was now displaying various images of himself, Jody, and John Connor. Jody was now trembling; the silence inside the cold, brilliantly lit room was almost deafening. Then suddenly the voice returned.

"EXPLANATION IS ACCEPTABLE..." There was another momentary pause and in that split second Jody suddenly leapt to her feet.

"You son of a bitch!" Jody shrieked as she attempted to move quickly towards Danny, but before she could get more than a few steps closer to him she was seized from behind by a Terminator and thrown back down to ground. When her body struck the metal floor it produced a hollow thud. The voice returned.

"SUSPECT WILL BE INTERROGATED AND EXAMINED BEFORE BEING PROCESSED FOR FINAL RECLAMATION."

"NO!" Jody shouted with absolute terror in her voice as the T-888 standing over her reached down, grabbing her by the shoulder and digging its bear metal fingers into her skin. Jody screamed in pain.

As the Terminator began to drag Jody out of the room she kicked her feet and clawed at the ground in a vain attempt to escape or at least delay the inevitable horrors that she knew were about to befall her. Skynet had no regard for human life, but Greys that betrayed it always met with a particular gruesome end.

"NO!" She screamed between her sobs. "DANNY!" she shouted as she was dragged through the open doorway.

"Danny help me please!" she shrieked.

"YOU MAY GO..." The booming voice said to Danny Dyson over Jody's cries of pain and fear. He nodded his head and turned and began to walk towards the open doorway making sure to remain several feet behind the Terminator that was now dragging Jody away. After walking through the exit one last scream on Jody's part could be heard before the sliding metal door slammed shut, sealing the room.

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"You're serious?...You're actually serious about this aren't you?" Lieutenant Jonathan Parker nearly shouted as he jumped to his feet from behind the table that was located inside of the command center. He stared across it at Savannah with a look of repugnant contempt in his eyes.

"Yes, I am!" Savannah shot back trying not to show any outward nervousness as all the eyes inside of the room were now focused on her.

"We have no other choice. If we stay here we die, if we try to run we die. Our only chance is to stand and fight Skynet."

"How can you possibly expect us to believe anything that you or your _friend_John Connor says at this point?" Lieutenant Cardoza asked as he leaned forwards in his chair. Savannah hesitated for a brief moment looking about the room. Her eyes glanced over at Captain Livie who had remained surprisingly quiet throughout the entire meeting.

"What could Connor possible do that could help us in any type of direction confrontation with Skynet's base of operations?" Master Sergeant Wilder asked in a calmer, yet still undeniably suspicious voice. Savannah remained silent for another moment, waiting, hoping that Livie would come to her aid as he and Martin Bedell had often times done before. She was forced to realized, however, that this time it would not happen. Savannah then turned to the only remaining individual seated at the table that had yet to say anything.

"Mr. Murch..." She said with nervousness in her tone, "...John Henry is still alive."

Matt Murch's eyes immediately grew larger and he sat forwards in his chair.

"Wh...what?" he said with extreme surprise in his tone. "How can that be?" He asked.

"He's with John Connor...well his chip is." Savannah responded. "They want to download him into Skynet's mainframe." Matt's jaw nearly dropped open and an excited look immediately shot across his face.

"Who is John Henry?" Lieutenant Parker asked flatly. Murch looked over at Parker and the rest of the group, back at Savannah, and then his gaze returned to the group. He was always a nervous person, but it was readily apparently that his anxiety was at an extreme level now.

"When I worked for Zeira Corporation, my employer Catherine Weaver..." Murch paused briefly trying to formulate the correct words to say,

"...Savannah's mother, she was able to obtain a program." he finally said.

"A program?" Master Sergeant Wilder asked.

"Ye...yes..." Murch responded. "It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was some form of artificial intelligence."

"Skynet..." Parker immediately blurted out.

"No!" was Murch's immediate response. "This program was not Skynet. It was much different than Skynet." Parker continued to give Murch a leery look. "Myself and a few others, Savannah's friend Mr. Ellison being one of them taught this Artificial Intelligence." Matt hesitated again, "We taught it...morality?" Murch added with some timidness at which point Jonathan Parker immediately laughed.

"How can you teach a machine morality?" Parker snidely remarked.

"I'm not sure." Murch said, "This program was different, it was learning things. Then one day there was an accident, or an attack depending on which story you believe and John Henry; that's what we named it, disappeared...Along with Catherine Weaver."

"John thinks that if they can download John Henry into Skynet, he can disrupt some of its systems and buy us enough time to get inside."

"Get inside and do what?" Wilder asked.

"We can destroy Skynet." Savannah said an ever so slight amount of hope in her tone. "Or at least deal it a crippling blow."

"This is ludicrous..." Parker immediately stated. "How do we even know that this, this John Henry can do such a thing?" All of the eyes in the room turned towards Matt Murch who shifted nervously in his chair.

"In theory it is possible, from what I know about Skynet; John Henry was based on similar operating parameters and programming. Given the right set of circumstances he might be able to be downloaded into Skynet's mainframe while at the same time functioning as an independent entity." Savannah glanced over at Livie and saw his eyebrows perk up slightly.

"This will work..." Savannah said looking across the table at Livie. "This is our one chance to bring down Skynet." Parker immediately looked over at Captain Livie who was seated next to him.

"You can't honestly be considering this can you?" Livie did not immediately respond, he just continued to sit quietly staring at Savannah.

"We CAN do this." Savannah said as she stared across the table and into Livie's eyes.

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.

The room was quiet, only the humming of a few computer fans could be heard inside of the command center. Captain Livie stood silently with his arms crossed in front of him next to the conference room table staring straight ahead; Savannah stood at a diagonal direction just a few feet away from him. It was just the two of them inside of the room and neither one had said anything for several minutes. Finally, unable to take the silence any longer Savannah spoke.

"This'll work...I know it will." Livie's angry eyes immediately snapped over in Savannah's direction and he glared at her. She responded by taking a half step away from his position.

"After all this..." he said. "After all he's done, you expect us to trust him?" Livie's eyes darted away from Savannah,  
"After all you've done, you expect me to trust you?" he then added in a hurt and remorseful tone. Savannah took a few steps closer to Livie and gently placed her hand on his chest. He glanced down at her with a somber look in his eyes.

"I know I've hurt you..." She said in a quiet and sad voice, hesitating briefly before continuing, "...many times and in many ways...and for that I am truly sorry. But, this is not about John Connor, or about me, or you, or even us. This is about stopping Skynet." Livie still did not respond as they continued to look at each other.

"Please..." Savannah said, her voice sinking into a whisper. "You trusted me once...just trust me one more time." she said before secretly thinking to herself, _Trust __me __this __one __last __time._ The room was once again swallowed by a nervous and quiet still as Livie and Savannah stared at each other.

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The door to the conference room opened and Savannah slowly stepped through the doorway. Parker, Wilder, Cardoza, Murch, Spears, and a few other soldiers immediately looked up as soon as she stepped into the hallway. Savannah stood quietly for a brief moment, staring at the men before she spoke.

"The attack is on." she said flatly. There were a flew rumbling mutters that came from the group as she made her statement. Savannah turned to walk away, but before she could leave Jonathan Parker stepped forward,

"That must have been one hell of a blow job you gave Livie..." He said in a disparaging tone. There was a slight gasp mixed with a few chuckles by the surrounding group of men. Savannah immediately stopped dead in her tracks. For a brief moment she did not move at all; several emotions rushed over her upon hearing these words, anger, sadness, and shame being three of the most powerful. Savannah turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder at Parker who was still standing out in front of the group looking at her with an arrogant smile smeared across his face.

"I mean just because you fucked your way to this position doesn't mean we should be forced to go on this suicide mission of yours." Before Parker had time to say anything else Savannah quickly spun around and in a flash covered the distance that separated her and Parker. A moment later there was a loud "pop" as she struck him across the left side of his face. After the impact Parker stumbled back into the group of men holding his jaw. He could taste blood in his mouth and feel it beginning to run down off his lower lip. Wiping the blood from his mouth Parker felt his anger growing, he had always hated Savannah, but now his animosity for her was almost unbridled.

"You bitch..." he muttered under his breath before quickly trying to move towards Savannah in an attempt to retaliate. However, before he could reach her he was grabbed by several men around him who proceeded to hold him back.

"Woah! Woah!" Spears yelled as he grabbed Parker around the chest.

"That fuck'n bitch is going to get us all killed!" Parker shouted as he strained against the soldiers who continued to restrain him. Savannah stood silently for a few seconds until it became apparent that Parker was unable to escape the grasp of his subduers. She turned and quietly walked away trying to fight back her own emotions as she proceeded down the hall.

Straining slightly against a few of the men, Parker looked over at Spears who still had his arms wrapped around his chest.

"That bitch hits me and you let her get away with it?" He asked. Spears looked at Parker and responded in a disapproving tone,

"Maybe you had it coming..." he said as he slowly released his grip. Parker stood momentarily dumbfounded by his friend's response.

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Jody was slammed against the metal table by one of the T-888's. Immediately afterward she felt her hands and feet being secured by metal restraints.

"No!" she cried out. The two Terminators that had dragged her into the interrogation room paid no attention to her pleas for mercy. She was now only dressed in a knee length, dirty examination gown and Jody struggled in vain against the steel shackles. She knew all too well what was about to happen, she herself had participated in these actions many times. In fact this was the same room that Jody had interrogated Alison in. There was an awful irony about the entire situation.

The clanking of metal could be heard as her two Terminator escorts left the room, the metal exit door hissed as it slammed shut behind them. Then, the room grew quiet once again; the only thing that Jody could hear was the sound of her own rapid breathing. Her head and eyes darted about the room looking for anyone or anything that might be there with her, but for the moment she saw no one. This however, did not necessarily mean that she was alone. At times Skynet had been known to leave its prisoners secured for hours, even days before it finally began to question them. Jody herself had liked to _watch_ her "victims" before she actually began the interrogation process. She had no idea which one of these fates would befall her and the more she thought about it the more her panic worsened. Still vigorously struggling against the shackles she could feel the metal cut into the skin of her wrists and ankles as she strained against them. Tears were now streaming down her face as her terror about the inevitability of the situation spiraled out of control.

"Let me go! Please!" she screamed. There was no response, the room was still quiet.

Laying her head back against the metal table Jody tried to control her breathing, but found that she could not, she was beginning to experience hyperventilation. Suddenly, she heard a hiss from the door located at the front of the room as it opened. Jody looked over and saw what appeared to be an attractive, young, white female walking towards her. At around 5'6" tall she appeared to weigh about 145 pounds. She had straight brownish blond hair that would have been almost long enough to reach her shoulders had it not been pulled back into a pony tail. Green eyes and an attractive smile graced the _woman__'__s_ face who appeared to be no older than 25. Her outfit consisted of a tight gray t-shirt and dark green cargo pants. Jody's eyes widened in fear as the female approached her. Upon seeing her reach the side of the table where she was secured, Jody found that her breathing and heart rate were nearly out of control. Her female interrogator stared down at her momentarily before delivering a sweet yet undeniably evil smile. She then spoke in a calm voice,

"Hello Jody..." she said as she reached out and gently brushed Jody's disheveled hair out of her face, "...my name is Lindsey, and I'm so glad we get to spend this time together." Tears flowed down Jody's cheeks as Lindsey's smile faded and her eyes began to glow red.

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The hallway was cool and quiet and only the slight hiss of moving air produced from the air conditioning vents could be heard. Danny Dyson stood perfectly still staring down the brightly lit corridor. Slowly, he allowed a triumphantly evil smile to fall into place as he continued to gaze down the hallway. He had been quite careful to ensure that all the "evidence" of what he had been planning would only lead back to Jody and not him. From ensuring that certain cameras were pointed in certain directions while he met with her to using her as a go-between, he had guaranteed that Jody and Jody alone would be implicated in all the events that had transpired. But he also understood that Skynet was not stupid, even though he had managed to momentarily mislead it, his activities would now be under close scrutiny. For the time being he must forgo any further actions against John Connor on his part, but he was patient. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he was afforded another opportunity for revenge against John Connor...his most hated enemy.

Suddenly, somewhere in the complex a door opened and Danny heard Jody scream in pain. His morbid smile only increased as he listened to her pain filled cries. At this point Danny believed that the only unfortunate thing for him was that he would have to find another _puppet_ to use in his plan to destroy John Connor. Not a huge undertaking, there were several other female Greys that he was relatively sure he could "convince" to help him. He had always been good at persuading people, especially women, to do what he wanted. Danny heard another shriek echo down the hallway before it was immediately cut off as the door to the distant interrogation room closed. His twisted smile remained on his smug lips as he turned and walked in the opposite direction down the corridor.

_Goodbye __Jody, __you __were __fun...for __awhile._ he thought to himself.

/././

Author's Notes: A cruel yet ironic end to for Jody. Hope everyone enjoyed. Review! Review!


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

Savannah Weaver sat on her bed staring quietly at the floor; her body was hunched over and she rested her elbows on her knees. Her head hung low and her red hair cascaded down across her face. She was sure that these would be the last few hours that she would ever spend in this place. If the mission was successful Skynet would be destroyed, and she would travel back to the past with John, hopefully putting everything about this horrible place behind her. If the mission failed it would surely mean her death as well as that of everyone that was with her. In actuality it more than likely would mean the death of humanity itself. With the Reese faction gone and excluding her own faction the only other surviving "power" in the immediate area besides her group that had any capability of effectively combating Skynet was General Perry's faction. And it was still a mystery if he was working with or against Skynet. Savannah sighed and ran her fingers through her hair moving some of it out of her face.

Reaching over next to the bed Savannah grabbed a backpack that was resting on the floor. She then stood and started towards the door, but before she could open it she heard a knock. Assuming that it was probably Lieutenant Parker or one of his minions she dropped the backpack to ground and cautiously opened the door.

"Lauren..." she said with a slight amount of surprise. Lauren Fields nodded her head in response.

"May I come in?" she asked quietly. Savannah nodded and stepped away from the doorway allowing Lauren to enter the room and Savannah closed to door behind her.

Lauren took three steps further into the room before turning to face Savannah. At first she said nothing; the two former lovers just stood quietly staring at each other for several seconds. There was an uncomfortable silence that began to take hold of the room. As the quiet dragged on Savannah could see Lauren's cold facial expression gradually change into one of distress and sadness. Feeling concerned for her, Savannah broke the silence,

"Is everything alright?" she asked. Lauren did not answer; she stood silently with a visible expression of dismay etched across her face. There was another brief pause before Savannah took a step closer to her.

"Lauren..." she said in a more sincere tone.

"No!" Lauren almost shouted, "Everything is not alright." her voice was a mixture of anger and desperation.

"How could you do this? How could you still believe him?" she asked in an elevated and exasperated tone. Savannah crinkled her forehead in a confused manner.

"After all he's done, how could you still believe John?" Savannah's eyes flicked momentarily towards the ground and she hesitated briefly before she responded.

"Because this is our one chance to defeat Skynet. I know what John did was horrible." Savannah's discomfort was becoming visibly apparent.

"But..." She paused to choke back her own emotions, "But he's done nothing worse than what I have done...than what I did...than what I used to do." Her struggle to continue speaking was becoming more and more obvious as she felt her own feelings of guilt begin to consume her,

"I was no better than he was while I was with Skynet...maybe even a little worse." Savannah took a short breath, "When it comes to John, what's done is done." She then nervously pushed some of her hair back behind her ear with her right hand before she spoke again. "We have been given an opportunity to stop Skynet." Lauren cautiously took a step closer to Savannah.

"But, how do you know you can trust him?" she asked. Savannah hesitated briefly,

"Because I know him...and I know deep down he hates Skynet just as much as we do and wants to see it stopped." There was another pause before Savannah continued, "And it's not like we have much of a choice. If we do nothing we're doomed. At least this way we have a fighting chance." Lauren took another step towards Savannah.

"And if John fails, you're all going to die..." Lauren said despairingly, "...and even if he does succeed, many of you are not coming back." Lauren continued to gradually edge her way closer to Savannah.

"I know..." Savannah responded in a somber tone. There were another few moments of weighted silence.

"You're not planning on coming back are you?" Lauren asked. Savannah immediately broke eye contact with her friend without responding. Lauren stepped to within a foot of Savannah as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're not coming back...are you?" She asked quietly. Savannah was still not looking at Lauren as her own eyes began to glisten in the dim light. "Are you?" she asked a third time. Savannah finally shook her head.

"No..." She responded in a hoarse voice. Lauren immediately reached out and took Savannah's hand.

"You don't have to do this. Not like this."

"Yes..." Savannah responded, "Yes, I do." She then sighed in defeat. "I can't stay here any longer. It's over for me after this." She paused briefly before quietly whispering.

"I'm so tired..." Lauren's body was shaking from the emotions that were now coursing over her. "I'm so tired of this world Lauren..."

"Please...don't do this." Lauren begged. "You're not alone here." she glanced down at the ground. "You...you still have me." she said in a weak voice before adding. "We still have each other." In response to her statement, Savannah slowly reached up with one hand and cupped it around Lauren's face lifting her head.

"Lauren..." Savannah said, pausing briefly to fight back her own emotions. "You have been there for me when I had no one else." Lauren's breath quaked as Savannah took another step closer and continued to speak.

"You are my best friend..." Savannah stopped momentarily and took a hard swallow, "...and for quite some time you were much, much more than that." A tear rolled down Lauren's cheek as she gazed up into Savannah's eyes.

"But I can't stay here. I _have_ to do this. I have to go." There was another moment of silence as Savannah gently caressed the side of Lauren's cheek while continuing to gently holding onto her hand.

"I'm sorry..." she then said. Lauren did not immediately respond except to quietly stare into Savannah's eyes.

"I love you..." Lauren finally whispered. Through her tear filled eyes and all the sadness a small smile managed to briefly make its way across Savannah's face.

"I love you too..." she quietly responded. Still shaking Lauren gradually leaned in and delicately pressed her lips up against Savannah's. The room grew silent once again and as the seconds drifted by Savannah sighed, a quiet moan of contentment as she took some comfort from both Lauren's words and her actions. Their kissing began to grow more and more passionate as emotions took hold and Savannah and Lauren made their way over to the bed; upon reaching it they paused briefly still kissing one another. Before long Lauren was pawing at Savannah's shirt, but suddenly pulled away. Savannah gave her a slightly puzzled look after this occurred. Lauren lovingly stared into Savannah's eyes and offered a sad yet consoling smile. She then lay back onto the mattress gently pulling Savannah down on top of her.

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Cameron could feel the sensation of cool rain water striking her body as she slowly opened her eyes. The tall grass around her was being blown about with more force now than it had been before. The dark clouds were directly overhead and it was readily apparent that the storm's intensity had increased. From where she stood Cameron looked over to the stream and waterfall located at the base of the hillside and saw the watery mist that was now being thrown into the air thanks to the strong wind being produced by the storm. Just then, there was a low rumble of thunder directly over Cameron's head. She also noted that what had once started as a slight drizzle was now a steady rain. Cameron tilted her head to the side exhibiting an expression of confusion.

"Hello..." A voice said from behind Cameron. She immediately turned around and observed John Henry standing a few feet away from her in the thigh length grass.

"Hello..." she responded.

"Have all the necessary preparations been completed?" John Henry asked.

"Yes..." Cameron responded, then immediately continued with, "Savannah and her faction are prepared to attack shortly after John and I download you into the Skynet mainframe."

"Good..." John Henry responded. Just after he spoke there was another cap of thunder and the rain began to increase.  
"I do not understand this significant in the change in weather?" Cameron asked as she briefly looked around the area.

"Inasmuch as this entire scene is a representation of what is left of my own consciousness trapped inside of your consciousness it is apparent that my program is rapidly beginning to break down. This is probably due in part to your own natural evolution." Cameron did not say anything, but remained quiet for the moment.

"In a way Cameron, you are slowly killing me." John Henry stated in a flat, emotionless tone.

"I don't understand." she responded.

"As your program continues to grow and evolve it stands to reason that it is employing more and more of your chip's resources. Understandably those resources are being stripped away from me."

"Can I stop it?" Cameron asked.

"No..." John Henry responded his voice losing some of its flatness and briefly taking on an almost grave tone.

"It is also likely that the weaker I become the more easily it will be for Skynet to be able to corrupt your program while we are attempting the download." Cameron's face twitched slightly as she experienced what could have only been described as a disturbing sensation. Her realization that it was now even more likely that she would not be returning to John was indeed a severely distressing conclusion.

"This is quite possibly the very last time we will ever see each other in this fashion." John Henry said. Cameron quickly glanced at him. For an unknown reason his words seemed to produce an unusual reaction within her; nostalgia possibly? While Cameron had only spent short periods of time with John Henry in this place the destruction of their unique bond was troubling. Cameron had not immediately expected to give that possibility any consideration and yet it now seemed as if she had.

The rain was growing harder, Cameron's brown hair and black sleeveless turtleneck and slacks were utterly soaked; however for some unusual reason John Henry appeared to be completely dry. The howling wind grew in its ferocity, blowing the rain sideways, and whipping the tall grass around in all directions. This scene was anything, but peaceful now. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder echoed overhead and Cameron looked skywards observing the black churning clouds and almost constant display of lighting above her.

"You should go Cameron; I believe that anymore time spent here could be detrimental to both of our programs." Turning her eyes from above, Cameron looked back at John Henry. Her face was now glistening from the rainwater. John Henry spoke again,

"I sincerely appreciate all of your help with this situation and I truly hope that I will see you again on the _other__side_." Cameron nodded her head slowly before speaking in a quiet voice which was barely audible,

"I will miss John." There was another clap of thunder,

"_The __course __of __true __love __never __did __run __smooth...__"_ John Henry stated as Cameron closed her eyes.

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The thudding blades of the Blackhawk Helicopter reverberated within Savannah Weaver's chest as she sat on the bench inside of the passenger compartment. She glanced around as the helicopter slowly began to lift off. Seated next to her with a steely, determined look about his face was Captain Livie. He had yet to speak a word to her since the attack briefing. The rest of the passenger compartment was taken up by 10 heavily armed troops. Everyone was dressed in digital dessert camouflage uniforms, had plasma rifles slung across their bodies via three point harnesses, and wore flack jackets and helmets.

_This __is __it..._ Savannah thought to herself as the fuselage of the aircraft began to tilt slightly to the right. She looked out the window seeing the dark night sky which was lit only by a partial moon and a smattering of stars. By the time the attack force reached Skynet it would be just before dawn, the most "vulnerable" time for an attack on Skynet. The plan called for a light ground assault force to begin an attack on the Skynet base just before sunrise in order to draw attention. The ground forces would receive some air support from a few Blackhawks and a handful of AH-6 "Little Bird" attack helicopters. Even if all went as planed these units would more than likely sustain the heaviest casualties of the battle.

While Skynet was "distracted" with the first assault it would then be up to John Connor and Cameron to download John Henry into Skynet's mainframe. Once this had occurred the battle would turn into a waiting game. With any luck John Henry would quickly be able to disable some of Skynet's key defense systems at which time a full attack on the Skynet base would start. Several more squads of ground assault vehicles mixed in with air support from Blackhawk Helicopters and a few remaining AV-8B Harrier II's that the faction had managed to repair would converge with the initial attack group. While there was only a handful of Harrier II's the hope was that Skynet had "grounded" many of its own Aerial HK's which had been designed for air to air combat due to the fact that it had been almost a decade since there had been any type of significant air to air battle between human forces and Skynet units.

Provided that everything went according to plan the final stage of the assault would come when Captain Livie led the final few Blackhawks to land behind the defensive perimeter of the Skynet walls in order to gain entry into the actual base itself. Once inside the attack group would try to progress as deep into the infrastructure as possible in order to deliver the _strike__package._ The "belief" of everyone, but Savannah, John, and Cameron was that at some point during this incursion John would meet up with the assault group in order to escape with them. In actuality, Savannah planned on somehow separating herself from the group in order to reunite with John. It was hoped that John Henry would be able to weaken Skynet enough so that John would be able to obtain the location of the Time Displacement Equipment and shortly before Skynet's destruction they would all jump back to the past.

Savannah took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. There was much of that plan that was being "hoped" for and many unknown variables were inserted into it, but in the end it was the only chance they had to defeat Skynet. This was indeed the greatest chance of victory any faction had been given in years. Still, much was being risked. The majority of the Bedell faction had been committed to this assault. Although a handful of troops and support staff including Lauren Fields had been left behind, the vast majority of personal were dedicated to this strike.

Lauren had wanted to join the assault group in order to attend to the wounded in the field; Savannah had managed, however, to convince Livie to leave her behind, persuading him that a significant medical resource like Lauren should not be placed in such jeopardy. In actuality this had been Savannah's own way of protecting her. While Savannah knew that she would be leaving Lauren forever; it would hopefully be with the chance for a better future and Savannah wanted her to at least be able to live long enough to see that future. Lauren had not been happy when she was informed that she was being left behind, but in the end it was for the best. Savannah believed that after all that Lauren had done for her over the years; she deserved a chance to live without the danger of being annihilated by Skynet.

The Blackhawk shook slightly from some midair turbulence and everyone was jostled in their seats. Savannah continued to gaze out the window. What she had said to Lauren was true; she was so very tired of this world, tired of the struggle, the fighting, and the surviving. One way or the other she wanted to be free of it all and by the end of this day she would be; whether that freedom came from time travel, or death remained uncertain. The Blackhawk helicopter continued to slowly fly west towards the Skynet base.

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Author's Notes: I'm sure the Savannah/Lauren scene surprised a lot of people, but I hope you liked this chapter. Review! Review!


	31. Chapter 31

Author's Notes: The final 3 chapters of this story will by far be the most shocking, however I had to split them up because to combine everything into 1 or 2 chapters would have simply been far to long. I will compensate for the "shock" value by posting these final 3 chapters in a much more rapid succession (instead of waiting my normal 2 weeks I will only be waiting a few days). Due to the content I only ask that you stick this through till the end and I believe you will not be disappointed.

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Chapter 31

The top section of the Centurion HK exploded into a massive spark filled orange and red fireball after being struck by a Javelin anti-tank missile. Its legs immediately buckled under their own weight and the HK came crashing to the ground. A large dust cloud erupted around the massive Skynet creature as it smashed into the ground creating a deep rumbling sound throughout the entire area.

After watching the Centurion HK collapse, Lance Corporal Sharman and three other resistance soldiers ducked back into the large crater where they had been hiding. It was just before dawn and the sun's light had barely begun to illuminate the area around the enormous Skynet base. Night vision would be useless while unenhanced vision would also be obscured. For once humans actually had the advantage, at least when it came to a visual acuity.

While Sharman and the rest of his squad remained concealed the huge plasma cannons located on top of the perimeter walls around the Skynet base began to fire randomly out into the distance; large explosions immediately began to light up the surrounding area. Suddenly, there was loud pop and a second Javelin was fired just yards away from Sharman's group. A split second later the missile's primary booster rocket ignited and it streaked through the air before descending on one of the plasma cannons atop the defensive wall. It instantly exploded into a large fireball. Bits and pieces of debris rained down on the area surrounding it. Spotlights burst to life and began to sweep the perimeter as the remaining two Centurion HK's moved away from the base in search of targets. There would not be many, but enough for the initial distraction. At this same time the massive front entrance doors to the Skynet encampment slowly swung open allowing bare metal T-888's and ground HK's to pour out onto the battle field.

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Cameron and John walked at a deliberately even pace through the brightly lit hallway headed for the elevator which would have taken them to Fischer's command center. They avoided any sign of a particular rush to minimize the attention that might be drawn to them. They hoped that Skynet was already diverting its "attention" to the resistance's assault and that some minor inconsistencies with their behavior would at least for the time being go unnoticed.

"We must hurry, the attack has already begun." Cameron said quietly to John as they progressed further down the hallway.

"I know..." he responded in an equally subdued voice. Rounding a corner they came to the hallway which would have taken them directly to the elevator. Before they reached the entrance, however, Cameron and John moved through a small side door and into an adjacent room.

The out of the way, barely monitored, and dimly lit interior space was small and unassuming. It was an area mainly used to house circuit boards, fuses, and for maintenance upkeep, nothing to terribly important. John estimated that the room had to only be about 8x12 feet in size. Gray circuit boxes were positioned all along the walls and in the center of the room was a rectangular shaped column with a computer display located on one side. Below it was a touch panel display along with what appeared to be both USB and serial port jacks.

"In there." Cameron stated as she tilted her head towards one of the serial ports. John nodded in response as Cameron sat down next to the center support column and rested her back against the metal. She then slowly lifted her eyes to look at him.

"John..." She said, her voice resonating with a hint of sadness. "It is time..." Retrieving a knife from his pocket John knelt down to the right of Cameron. A clicking sound bounced off the metal interior walls as he unfolded the blade and it locked into place. Other than that initial noise there was absolutely no sound inside the room, no computer fans humming, no sound of air conditioning, nothing at all except the sound of John's breathing and heart beat which was growing more rapid by the second.

John slowly brushed back Cameron's brown hair with his left hand as his right hand brought the knife closer. As it approached her head he hesitated briefly and Cameron's brown eyes darted upwards to look at him.

"John..." she said in a now weaker voice. John pushed his knife forward and began to cut into the skin of Cameron's scalp. He cringed when he saw the blood begin to trickle down the side of her face from the wound he was inflicting upon her. An eternity seemed to pass for John as he cut a crescent shaped incision into Cameron's head. Once the act was finally completed he slowly slid the skin back exposing her chip port cover. John's breathing and the thumping of his heart were still the only things that could be heard inside the room. With his knife he slowly pried the chip port cover open exposing Cameron's chip. His hands were shaking now and he struggled to fight back his feelings as his left hand reached for Cameron's chip. When his fingers were just inches from it he suddenly froze, a visible look of horror upon his face. Cameron's brown eyes continued to gaze at him.

"John..." she said again. "We have to hurry."

"I can't..." He replied in a hoarse voice.

"The resistance does not have much time..." she said and then added, "..._We_ do not have much time." Cameron watched as John's hand gradually began to move away from her chip.

"There has to be another way." He said.

"There is not." Cameron answered her voice growing more desperate. The subtle undertones of her emotions were rapidly beginning to disappear.

"I can't lose you...not again, not like this." he whispered.

"You must do this...it is the only way." John moved his hand even further away from Cameron's chip port. It appeared he was now completely committed to his actions.

"John please!" Cameron cried out. John nearly jumped, he was so startled by Cameron's unexpectedly emotional plea. Looking into her eyes he could see tears beginning to form in them. Not since she had begged for her life while trapped between the two trucks had John seen such a visible display of feelings on Cameron's part. John gazed into her sad eyes for several seconds before finally surrendering to the inevitable reality that was before him. Gritting his teeth he moved his hand back to her chip and grasped it with his fingers. He began to pull. A split second before her chip broke free Cameron managed to utter one last statement.

"I love you..." she whispered. There was a "click" as John extracted the chip. Her eyes flashed blue behind her brown irises and her body went limp. John felt a sickening feeling roll over him as he stared down at Cameron's lifeless body. His body and hands were shaking and he felt as if he could not move from his position. His vision was becoming blurred as his own tears obstructed his eyesight. For the moment he remained in his frozen position over Cameron, he could neither move nor speak. He could only kneel silently on the floor next to her limp body.

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Using their crablike legs the two remaining Centurion HK's moved quickly across the dimly lit terrain spraying the battlefield with plasma cannon fire. Coming rapidly up behind them were the regular tread driven Ground HK's and numerous T-888's. Several SUV's, Pickup Trucks, and a small handful of Humvees which had been outfitted with heavy machine guns darted quickly across the battlefield, constantly firing at the much more heavily armored and well equipped Skynet units. The resistance had few if any armored vehicles that could stand toe to toe against the much better protected Skynet machines. Whenever one of the Centurion or Ground HK's weapons managed to find their mark these thin skinned resistance vehicles were obliterated almost instantly.

The Aerial HK's which had been launched early on in the battle were making quick work of the few Blackhawks and "Little Birds" that had been assigned to provide air cover for the first wave of the assault. Ground units scurried about the area each one trying to find a different position where they could find cover and still manage to mount some sort of offensive. Even though the sun had yet to rise completely its illumination was already being hindered by the thick clouds of smoke and debris that were now mixing with the smell of burnt flesh, sulfur, and gunpowder that hung in the air. While the Bedell Faction did have weapons such as the Javelin anti-tank and Stinger missiles that were strong enough to damage the Skynet forces, the casualties that the resistance were taking far outweighed any amount of damage they had been able to inflict upon Skynet. It would only be a short amount of time before the first wave was completely overrun.

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The Blackhawk Helicopter jolted to one side from the air turbulence and Savannah felt her body pushed into Livie's who was seated next to her. She stared out the helicopter's window. In the distance she could see the brightly colored streaks of plasma fire and the occasional explosions from the far off battle. Savannah felt and unsettling sense of guilt as she watched the distant combat rage. She almost found a certain beauty in this abhorrent scene. The dark smoky plumes, mixed with the brilliant purple and blue flashes of plasma bolts, accented by the bright explosions and the soon to be orange and red morning sunlight. She was almost drawn to it, though she never fully understood why. Death and destruction were certainly not things that she enjoyed or even wanted to take part in, yet for an unknown reason Savannah garnered some sort of odd peace from the situation. She knew not whether the serene calm came from the knowledge that this would indeed be her last battle, or because that one way or the other she would be leaving this horrifying place behind.

This heinous and debased existence was all that Savannah had ever known; she had grown up in a life inundated by death, twisted sexual affairs, and steeped in extreme loneliness and abandonment. Although she had from time to time managed to temporarily elude the worst parts of her life through different avenues of escape such as sex, drugs, alcohol, or any combination of the three; these were just temporary distractions. The relief was always short lived and the harsh reality of her life had always come screaming back to her with even more ferocity each time she managed to momentarily free herself from it. Yet, there was a damaged part of Savannah that seemed to revel in all of this chaos and despair. The excitement, the intrigue, and the pure rush of adrenalin from whatever the uncontrollable situation might be. This warped side of Savannah had cost her dearly on quite a few occasions. She had tried to bury that twisted part of her psyche but she had never truly been able to rid herself of it. Her dark proclivities haunted her constantly.

The Blackhawk jostled to one side again, and Savannah was shaken out of her daze. She immediately noticed that the skyline was growing brighter. If all went as planned the sun would be rising just to the rear of the Blackhawks as they made their final approach. Hopefully this would further impede the enemy's optics. Savannah could hear the cross communications and the screams which were being broadcast over the resistance's radios as the attack force grew closer to the Skynet base of operations. However, there was little anyone could do at this point until John was able to download John Henry into Skynet's mainframe. It was only after Skynet's operations had been disrupted that the second wave of the attack would be dispatched. Savannah knew that the sad reality was that if John failed in his mission the resistance would be forced to abandon any support of the first wave; allowing them to be completely wiped out. The Blackhawk Helicopter continued its slow approach of the distant battle and everyone waited quietly for what was to come next.

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There was a quiet beep which signaled the completion of the download and John carefully removed Cameron's chip from the serial port. He briefly watched the small screen in front of him which for the moment only displayed mathematical formulas. The figures moved across the screen so quickly John was unable to make out any type of discernible detail about them. After removing Cameron's chip John watched as the display flickered a few times and then went back to what appeared to be its "normal" operation. Quickly moving his attention back to Cameron, John knelt down next to her and prepared to replace her chip. His hands were still shaking almost uncontrollably as he placed the chip back into its port. He heard another "click" as he carefully locked it back into place; he then replaced the chip port cover. John carefully moved Cameron's scalp back over the port and smoothed out her soft brown hair. He then began his excruciating wait. It was his understanding that if her programming had not been damaged she would automatically restart as if nothing had happened. John held his breath as he stared into Cameron's lifeless eyes...waiting.

As the seconds drifted by John's anxiety grew worse and he felt the nauseating feeling growing within the pit of his stomach. His whole body tensed in response to the sheer terror of the idea of losing Cameron again. His emotions began to take hold of him. He wondered if this was his destined punishment for all that he had done? While he readily accepted that he deserved whatever condemnation that might be imparted onto him, Cameron herself deserved none of it. John clenched down hard on his jaw as time continued to drift by. While it had only been a few moments since Cameron's chip had been placed back, it felt as if it had already been an eternity. John continued his wait and still nothing happened. Panic was now setting in as he gazed into Cameron's lifeless eyes; they remain unmoved. John asked himself the _simple_ question that if she did not wake up would there even be a point in him leaving? By this time he had concluded that death was a more desirable option than a life without her. Tears were making their way back into his eyes and his breathing was becoming more rapid and shallow as the inescapable reality began to set in.

"Please..." John whispered aloud. There was no response, just the still and quiet solitude of his own broken soul. He felt all the strength draining out of him as he nearly collapsed next to Cameron, resting his back up against the central pillar. As his heartache consumed him, he allowed his head to fall backwards and it collided with the steel support producing a slight clank.

"Please not to her..." he whispered.

"John..." a weak voice said breaking the silence of the room. John's head immediately snapped over to look at Cameron. He was met by her own brown eyed gaze. Quickly turning to face her, John was now crouched on both knees next to her.

"You're alive..." He managed gasp out in a hoarse voice. Glancing around the room briefly Cameron's eyes again returned to look into John's.

"It would appear so." she responded in a very matter of fact way. John laughed for the first time in longer than he could remember.

"You're alive." he said again as he brought his hands up and cupped them around Cameron's face. Before she could respond to his statement John moved in closer to her and pressed his lips against hers.

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The doors to the small maintenance room opened and John and Cameron immediately stepped out into the hallway.

"How soon will we know?" John asked as they walked in the opposite direction from where they had just been.

"Unknown..." Cameron responded as she picked up her pace so she could lead the way in front of him.

"I am not even certain if John Henry was able to fully download into the Skynet mainframe." John gave her a puzzled look and was about to speak again as they rounded a corner, but suddenly Cameron came to an abrupt stop. Her impromptu halt was so immediately that John nearly ran into the back of her.

"Oh good you two are here." Charles Fischer stated as he momentarily stopped in front of them. He was still flanked on both sides by two bare metal T-888's. They both appeared to be looking intently at John and Cameron as they stood silent and at the ready.

"I'm sure you've heard by this point that the resistance is mounting an ill fated assault on this facility?"

"We are aware." Cameron stated with no discernible emotion in her voice, "That is the reason we had come looking for you."

"How convenient..." Fischer immediately responded in a somewhat cryptic tone. While he showed no visible sign of distrust John still wondered if he suspected something.

"Please join me..." Fischer said as he waited for John and Cameron to both turn and walk back towards the Grey CNC's elevator. He and his Terminator escorts followed closely behind them.

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The double doors to the elevator opened; John and Cameron followed by Fischer and his Terminators guards walked into the room. It was sparsely occupied with only a few other Greys and doozers walking about the area. John assumed that due to the attack most of the humans had been relegated to assisting with menial tasks within the base itself. Fischer proceeded down the small set of metal stars at the center of the room and over to the touch screen display table. John and Cameron followed after him. The monitors which hung down from the ceiling and encircled the center of the room all showed images of the ongoing battle that was raging outside. A large computer generated map of the Skynet base and the surrounding area was shown on the touch screen display table in front of Fischer, John, and Cameron. Different icons of blue and red triangles dotted the map. They signified human troop or Skynet machine movements. John quickly ascertained that the resistance attack was not going well at all.

"As you can see John, Skynet has things well in hand." Fischer said in a smug tone as he pointed to the display. John only nodded in response, his eyes then quickly moved over to Cameron searching for some clue that she might give him as to the "whereabouts" of John Henry. Knowing nothing more than he knew, Cameron could only look back into his eyes.

Fischer touched the glass surface of the table. As he did this he "slid" the computer displayed map to one side. John was now able to see quite a few more blue triangular icons positioned just outside of what would have been the main viewing area of the map itself.

"It appears that this initial attack is only a diversionary attempt on the resistance's part to distract us from a much larger attack force." John felt his heart rate increasing. If John Henry's download had not been successful it would only be a short time before Skynet was able to completely encircle and then wipe out the Bedell Faction's army. Fischer produced another arrogant smile and continued with his smug tone,

"This should all be over relatively quickly." he said.

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The battle taking place just outside of the Skynet walls was not going well at all. Led by the two Centurion HK's the ground HK's, Aerial HK's, and T-888's were easily pushing the first wave of the resistance soldiers back and it would only be a matter of minutes before they were forced into a full retreat. Human bodies mixed with destroyed Terminators littered the hilly, debris strewn battlefield. The sun was just beginning to rise, but most of its light was being blocked out by the dark smoke clouds that hung in the air; the most brilliant displays of illumination still came from plasma fire and explosions. The ground HK's were sidling up next to the Centurion HK's forming a complete line so as to more effectively push back the resistance. The Bedell Faction's soldiers were being forced to flee all of their locations to avoid being immediately killed by the advancing forces.

Lance Corporal Sharman and the two remaining resistance soldiers from his squad hunkered down in a crater watching the unstoppable force coming towards them. His group only had one Javelin missile left, and it almost seemed pointless to waste it unless it became absolutely necessary to do so. The unstoppable Skynet hordes grew closer to Sharman and his team as they could only watch as their fellow soldiers were so easily cut down.

Then suddenly, something strange happened. Sharman watched as one of the Ground HK's that made up the Skynet line came to an abrupt halt. As the other Skynet units pushed forwards they left it behind. The Ground HK sat unmoved for several seconds until both of its plasma cannons rapidly turned towards another Ground HK located at a diagonal direction to it and fired. The still moving Skynet HK burst into a large explosion of sparks and fire. Before any of the other machines could respond the Ground HK turned its destructive fire on another HK. However, before it was able to move on to a third unit one of the Centurion HK's torso section quickly rotated around and opened fire; the "defective" unit was immediately destroyed. But soon something else strange happened, several more ground HK's stopped along with several T-888's. While the majority of the immobile units remained motionless some, like the first Ground HK actually began to turn on their Skynet counterparts. This unusual behavior began to spread rapidly across the battlefield with some machines completely going offline while others continued to turn on one another. Atop of the massive wall which surrounded the Skynet base one of the huge plasma cannons rotated around and fired on one of the adjoining turrets, destroying several before it was destroyed by another plasma cannon.

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Fischer stared down at the display in front of him, the look of arrogance had at first faded into a look of suspicion and was now contorted into total confusion. His face was marked with a permanent scowl as he looked down upon the computer generated map. He then quickly glanced up at the monitors and at the now rapidly turning tide of the battle. Intermittent static began to augment the screens around the Grey CNC and the images themselves began to become choppy, almost as if they were unable to receive a full signal.

Suddenly, there was a loud clank of what sounded like metal on metal and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

"What the hell?" Fischer said aloud. Almost as fast as the lights had gone off they immediately came back on. John and Cameron watched silently as Fischer worked furiously away on the touch screen display in front of him opening up numerous different windows and files as he attempted to diagnose the "problem".

"What the fuck is going on?" he said in an exasperated tone. The images displayed on the monitors were becoming more and more intermittent, but from what John was able to see Skynet was now having severe difficulty controlling a portion of its machines. While not all of the units had gone off line, or had actually turned against Skynet, there had been enough to throw the entire Skynet defense force into a state of confusion. Further compounding the issue, John watched as the second wave of the Bedell faction began to move onto the battlefield.

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One of the steel legs of the Centurion HK exploded sending shards of metal shrapnel in every direction, instantly killing a few resistance soldiers. The massive four legged machine stumbled and attempted to right itself on its remaining three legs as one of five Harriers quickly streaked overhead. The Bedell Faction's second wave was rapidly making its way onto the battleground and due to the ensuing confusion was actually making some headway. With more significant resistance air support the Aerial HK's, half of which had already been brought down by John Henry's incursion, found themselves fully engulfed in an air battle with Harriers, Blackhawks, and "Little Birds". While they were still better equipped for aerial combat than helicopters, it was apparent that the confusion that Skynet was now suffering from had appreciably impaired their abilities.

The Centurion HK's were a different story entirely. Able to function without communication and operate independently from Skynet the two remaining units had managed to sever their wireless connection before John Henry was able to inflict any type of harm upon them. With their ability to wirelessly seize control of other Skynet units the Centurion HK's were quickly working to bring their disabled machines brothers back online.

Lance Corporal Sharman squeezed the trigger to his Javelin Missile Launcher and heard the pop as the projectile was first ejected from the missile tube. An instant later the rocket's main engine ignited and Sharman saw the missile soar up into the air and then it quickly came streaking back down onto the top of the three legged Centurion HK. The entire top portion of the HK's torso exploded and moments later it crashed over onto its side. When this occurred Sharman observed several other Skynet Units released from its control. A few Ground HK's immediately came to a stop while several T-888's collapsed.

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Cameron cautiously inched her way closer to John. When she was near enough for it to escape notice she reached over and ever so carefully touched his hand with her own. Anyone who might have been watching could have easily mistaken this for an "accidental" touch and with Fischer now completely absorbed in his attempt to determine what was happening outside there was little chance of him noticing. However, the moment she touched John his eyes immediately looked over at her. Making a slight motion with her head Cameron signaled to him that it was past the time for them to attempt an escape. It was now extremely apparent that John Henry had thrown the entire battle into a state of chaos. John carefully began to move away from the table.

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A flaming Harrier Jet spun wildly out of control and came crashing to the ground in a fiery explosion just as the last Centurion HK came crumbling to the earth's surface after being struck by a Maverick anti-tank missile from one of the few remaining fighters. While there was still a formidable amount of Skynet units still functioning on the battlefield enough machines had been disabled or confused that the resistance now had a chance to begin their assault on the actual Skynet base itself.

The sun continued to rise over the battlefield. Its light produced a beautiful orange and red aura to the rear of the Blackhawk Helicopters as they flew closer to Skynet's perimeter walls. Over the noise of the helicopter blades and crosstalk on the radio Savannah heard the deep resonating sounds of anti aircraft shells exploding around the helicopter as they flew ever closer to the landing point. The aircraft shuddered violently and its frame groaned as each detonation grew closer. Compounding the turbulence was the changing temperature of the air as both the sun and fire from explosions began to push away the cooler night air.

Suddenly, the Blackhawk was rocked to one side as another helicopter nearby exploded after being struck by one of Skynet's many ground based weapons. Savannah could hear several alarms going off inside the cockpit behind her. Due to her pilot training she found herself quickly trying to deduce which each alarm meant. She found it was extremely difficult for her to not be in control of the aircraft in which she flew. The Blackhawk shook again as another anti-aircraft round exploded nearby; immediately after the explosion one of the windows on the starboard side of the aircraft cracked in several places producing a spider web like pattern on the window itself. Everyone inside of the helicopter jumped when this occurred. Looking out the window it was easy to see that the sky was dotted with large black clouds, a byproduct of the anti-aircraft shells.

As the Blackhawks grew closer to the Skynet base Savannah felt the helicopter begin to drop every so often as it _collided_ with small cold air pockets which had become trapped in the atmosphere. This turbulence caused momentary feelings of weightlessness, and was quite disturbing, but completely unavoidable given the circumstances. Savannah looked out the window and saw that several helicopters which would have been involved in the final assault had already been shot down. While John Henry had managed to greatly hinder Skynet, this would still not be an easy fight. The Blackhawk began to yaw to the left as the attack group began their final approach.

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John continued to edge his way away from the display table. As he did so, Cameron slowly made her way in front of him placing herself between him and Fischer and his Terminator body guards. For the moment Fischer was completely distracted by his work, however, given the layout of the room John and Cameron were eventually going to be forced to make an all out run for the door. John hoped that somehow John Henry would be able to help them with this feat, if not they would surely be doomed. He also took note that most of the Greys that had been inside the room had left, presumably going to other locations in an attempt to try and "fix" the problems that were occurring, or possibly just to flee the scene.

John was several feet away from the table located at the center of the room when he saw Fischer suddenly freeze as he stared down at the display screen in front of him. Fischer then slowly looked up at John,

"You..." he said in a low voice. After a several second pause he spoke again, "YOU did this..." Before either John or Cameron could move both of the Terminators located on either side of Fischer quickly raised their plasma rifles. One pointed its rifle at John while the other pointed its rifle at Cameron. The absolute fury on Charles Fischer's face was one of pure evil. He raised his upper body away from the touch screen display where he had been hunched over just moments before.

"Did you really think you would get away with this?" he asked as his eyes focused on John who was now staring back at him with a steely determination.

"Not sure..." he responded, "...thought I might though." Just to further infuriate Fischer, John was sure to insert a noticeable amount of arrogance into his tone.

"You could have had everything." Fischer said angrily, "Anything you could have ever wanted or desired Skynet would have given to you if you had just cooperated." John's eyes were narrowing with hatred as he glared at Fischer.

"I only wanted one thing..." John growled as he fought the urge to glance over at Cameron. He secretly hoped that while Fischer was distracted with him that she would flee. He knew, however, that she would not do that. The sad but inescapable truth was that Cameron would never leave his side. They would both die here...together.

"You'll pay for your treachery..." Fischer snarled.

"If you're going to kill me..." John said as he continued staring hatefully at Fischer, "...then shut up and kill me." Suddenly, and in a perplexing display of emotion Fischer began to laugh. Both John and Cameron gave him a confused look. As the seconds ticked by Fischer's maniacal smile only increased, finally his laughing subsided.

"Oh John..." he said still chuckling as he casually reached into his pocket and retrieved a small object from it.

"...I'm not going to kill YOU." Fischer said as his gaze shifted over to Cameron. Fischer then depressed a button on the remote control which was in his hand.

Immediately, there was a loud bang and Cameron's head jerked around as the small explosive next to her chip detonated. There was a brief flash of blue in her eyes before Cameron's body went completely limp and she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"NOO!" John screamed as he immediately moved to her side though he knew it was already too late. As he knelt down next to Cameron, he lifted her upper body into his arms.

"No...Cameron..." he whispered as he stared into her lifeless eyes with his own tear filled eyes as he brushed the hair back out of her face.

"Cameron..." he said one more time. The crushing emotional weight of the situation was unbearable for John. For the moment he could see nothing else around him, but Cameron's brown eyes which stared unblinkingly back at him; desperately clutching her body John's vision blurred from the tears in his eyes.

"There are things in this life so much worse than death..." Fischer said in a low and malevolent tone as he moved across the room. Still holding onto Cameron's lifeless body John slowly looked up at Fischer. Both of his Terminator body guards now had their plasma rifles trained on him.

"Kill me..." John said in an infuriated voice while his body shook as he clung to Cameron. Fischer laughed.

"No..." he said, "...you live with it." Pausing briefly he then continued, "...you live with EVERYTHING you've done." Fischer then turned and began to walk out of the room with both of his T-888's in tow.

"Kill me now Fischer!" John shouted in utter rage, every muscle in his body bristling as Fischer walked further away,

"...because if you don't I will find you!" John heard the hiss from the elevator doors at the front of the room as they opened.

"I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL KILL YOU!" John screamed, a split second later he heard the sound of the CNC elevator doors slam shut and the room was plunged into an eerie quiet. Nothing but the drone of computer and air conditioning fans could be heard. Still kneeling on the ground next to Cameron, John buried his head in her neck and sobbed.

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The Blackhawk Helicopter jostled slightly as it touched down just inside the walls of the Skynet base. At almost the precise second this occurred the passenger compartment door flew open and the soldiers inside quickly poured out of the aircraft. Reaching over next to him Captain Livie grabbed a medium sized duffel bag and swung it over his shoulder as he and Savannah exited the helicopter. The moment they were out of the passenger compartment Savannah heard the engines of the Blackhawk begin roar back to life as it lifted back off the tarmac. Confusion reigned inside the walls of the Skynet base. Plasma fire was everywhere and a thick haze of smoke hung in the air which smelled of sulfur and burnt human flesh and hair. Humans fought machines, some machines fought other machines, and some just stood motionless. Colorful plasma fire streaked back and forth and every so often explosions would burst forth from one particular location or another.

"Let's go!" Livie shouted to Savannah as he and the rest of the group began to run over towards a massive set of double doors attached to the enormous Skynet structure which awaited them. After taking a brief moment to stare up at the several sets of high towers all of which ascended from the same enormously rectangular base which lay before her, Savannah quickly moved in behind Livie. She followed him towards the large entrance doors.

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Author's Notes: I realize that many readers will be angered by Cameron's death and this seemingly cliffhanger type ending to the chapter. However, as I stated before, you will not have to wait long for the next chapter to be released. All I ask is that you follow this through to the end and I do not think you will be disappointed. I'm hoping for a lot of reviews and comments from this chapter on forward.


	32. Chapter 32

Author's Notes: This is by far my favorite chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.

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CHAPTER 32

The battle raging inside the Skynet corridors was intense. Savannah, Livie, and the rest of his team were embroiled in a close quarters battle with the remaining active T-888's and Drone HK's that John Henry had been unable to deactivate. The fight itself had nearly slowed to a stalemate and even though the hallways were brightly lit they were now so filled with smoke from the battle that it was difficult to see in them.

Huddled behind some metal crates, Savannah leaned out fired her plasma rifle, and then quickly moved back behind her position of cover. Captain Livie and approximately ten other resistance soldiers were using the same maneuver from different locations inside the hallways. Towards the end of the corridor were several bare metal Terminators; they were all fully functional and were managing to hold back Livie's small invasion team. However, the true danger rested with the threat that as time progressed more active Skynet units would eventually manage to surround Livie and his team. Something needed to be done soon, or they would all be killed.

Savannah pulled back behind the metal crates. The situation was rapidly deteriorating and for the moment it appeared that there was little anyone could do to stop it. Suddenly, from somewhere to the side, she heard a subtle beep. Glancing over in that direction, she saw a schematic appear on one of the glass touch screen displays located along the wall. Staring at it intently, Savannah suddenly realized that the display was actually showing a map. It provided directions that would guide her through one of the ventilation shafts around the T-888's and deeper inside the Skynet base.

_John __Henry __must __be __doing __this._ Savannah thought. She carefully examined the blueprints and then looked back at the steel grate covering the air conditioning shaft on the opposite side of the hallway. Coincidentally, Livie was very near this air shaft. As she studied the schematic on the display she wondered if these directions would not only lead her around the machines and further into the base, but to John Connor as well; without him, trying to escape this future would be virtually impossible. Much to her dismay, she had no way of asking John Henry any of these questions.

Sprinting across the hallway towards Livie, Savannah slammed into the metal wall after reaching his position. She slid down behind the large support beam located against the wall that managed to conceal both of them.

"What are you doing?" Livie shouted over the sounds of battle.

"I know how to get past them."

"What do you mean?" he asked. He then leaned out from behind cover long enough to fire off a few rounds from his plasma rifle before moving quickly back behind the steel girder.

"John Henry, he's shown me a map of how to use the ventilation shafts to get deeper into the base and back out again." The last part of the statement was an obvious lie on Savannah's part, but she did not want Livie and the rest of his men waiting around for her. She had absolutely no intention of returning.

"What do you mean he showed you?" Livie asked with some confusion in his voice. Savannah nodded over to the screen located on the opposite wall which still displayed the mapping directions. Glancing hurriedly at the schematic, Livie shot her a distrustful look. Before he could protest, Savannah turned away from him and fired her plasma rifle at the corner of the metal grate covering the air conditioning shaft. The edge exploded exposing part of the latticework. With her bare hand she began to pry back the metal grating.

"Wait, stop..." Livie said. Momentarily distracted, Savannah's left hand slipped and the gash which she had received shortly after her escape from her helicopter crash was cut back open.

"Damn it!..." Savannah snarled as she clenched her fist, squeezing out some blood between her fingers and glared at Livie with an angry look on her face.

"I can't let you do this." he said.

"It's the only way." Savannah responded, "Give me the bag and your key." Livie did not immediately respond or even move.

"Damn it Eric!" Savannah shouted, "There is no other way! Once I'm through you and your team can fall back. With John Henry's help I'll find my own way back out...I promise." Another lie, but Savannah had told so many by this point she barely noticed it. Taking a brief moment to consider his dwindling options Livie slowly removed the green duffel bag he had slung over his shoulder and reluctantly handed it over to Savannah.  
"Your key..." she said as she slid the bag into the ventilation shaft. Reaching under his flack jacket and into his shirt Livie withdrew a silvery looking titanium key on a chain that looked nearly identical to the one Martin Bedell had given to Savannah just before he died. He held it out in front of him and Savannah quickly grasped it and placed it into her right pocket. She moved toward the ventilation shaft, but paused just before entering it. She quickly glanced up at Livie and their eyes locked.

"Good-bye Eric..." she said in a more solemn voice. Eric nodded his head in response as Savannah slid head first into the air conditioning shaft. Livie remained motionless for a split second after watching her disappear. But, his moment of reflection was short lived as the sound of a plasma bolt streaking over his head brought reality back to him. Turning to face the battle he resumed firing his plasma rifle at the T-888's that were now making their way inexorably towards him and the rest of his invasion team.

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Cool air blew Savannah's red hair back and away from her face as she crawled on all fours down the ventilation shaft. She carefully pushed the duffel bag out in front of her with her left hand as she tightly clutched her plasma rifle with her right. Leaving a small bit of blood behind from the gash on her palm she made her way deeper into the Skynet base.

The metal duct work was extremely cold and Savannah's hands were starting to go numb from the contact with the frigid surface, but thanks to the map that John Henry had shown her, she had a relatively good idea of where she was going. Unfortunately, she was already suffering an aching fatigue in her arms and legs as she moved through the cramped maze of the ventilation shafts. The need to push the duffel bag along in front of her was also complicating the matter. The package in and of itself was not that heavy, but the manner in which she was forced to move it was quickly becoming tiresome. It would be several more minutes until she reached the location where John Henry had instructed her to exit. She could only hope that he would arrange further directions once she arrived there.

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Livie and his men had held out for as long as they could. Now they were being forced back down the hallways by the growing number of Skynet forces. Eric Livie could only pray that he had bought Savannah enough time to give her a head start, to let her get far enough ahead of the machines so that when they discovered the gaping hole in the ventilation grate they would be unable to catch up with her...wherever she was going. His hopes faded, however as he watched as two doozers scurried into the ventilation shaft and disappeared. They were smaller machines, but Livie knew that they were no less deadly, especially two of them.

"Savannah..." Livie whispered to himself. He instinctively reached for the radio on his hip in order to warn her, but then realized that with all the steel that now surrounded them radio communication had become virtually useless inside the Skynet corridors. For the time being, Savannah was on her own.

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After doing her best to ensure there were no Skynet units in the immediate area Savannah kicked out the metal grating that covered the ventilation shaft. She watched as it fell from the ceiling and down onto the metal floor with a crash. Hopefully nothing had heard that. She then carefully lowered herself down out of the opening. The height of the ceilings forced her to allow herself to free fall the last few feet. With her equipment and the duffel bag Savannah struck the ground with a thud and groaned slightly from the impact. Immediately after her feet hit the floor she raised her plasma rifle and scanned the area for any potential threats. She saw none.

As were all the other hallways, this one was brightly lit and cold. For the moment Savannah was unsure of where to go next. Looking at a few of the glass touch screen displays along the wall she saw that nothing at all was displayed on them.

"Come on John Henry..." Savannah muttered to herself.

Suddenly, from up above, Savannah heard a sharp clicking. Before she even had time to question the sound she heard what she could only describe as a mechanical shriek. In the next instant a doozer dropped down from the open ventilation shaft above her. Shocked, she let out a short screech as the machine struck her and she stumbled. While it was not heavy, its impact was magnified by the several foot drop from the ceiling. The doozer's tiny fingers scratched and clawed at Savannah's face while its sharp legs struck at her body. Had it not been for her body armor the sharp tips of the doozer's legs would have been able to impale her. Spinning her body around and trying to aim her plasma rifle at the frenzied creature Savannah fired off several rounds from her plasma rifle, but none of the bolts found their intended target. Instead, they flew wildly down the hall striking the stainless steel walls producing a shower of sparks when they hit. Savannah cried out in pain as one of the doozer's claw like fingers cut three deep scratches into the soft skin of her cheek. She instantly felt blood begin to flow from the open wound.

Just then, the second doozer dropped down out of the ventilation shaft with the same eerie mechanical scream the first one had produced. Savannah desperately spun around striking the second doozer with the body of the first machine that was still clawing and scratching away at her. The second doozer hit the ground with a metallic clank and rolled over onto its side. The creature quickly righted itself and prepared to jump towards Savannah. Before it could move, Savannah raised her plasma rifle with one hand and fired, striking the machine and knocking it over onto its side completely incapacitating it.

A split second later the sharp heel of the first doozer's leg came streaking down across the back of her hand cutting it open. She let out another cry of pain and dropped her weapon. The doozer's ghostly inhuman shriek echoed down the hall as it quickly drove its pointed leg into Savannah's chest producing a clank as it struck the ceramic trauma plate located inside of her flack jacket. Even without penetration, the impact still knocked the wind out of Savannah's lungs and she doubled over in pain.

The doozer was now on Savannah's back; its hard metal claws tearing and scratching away at her. She felt as if her hair was being pulled out strand by strand as some of the doozer's tiny joints and gears momentarily became tangled in her long red hair; its primary attention was focused on her face and neck. Savannah was becoming increasingly frustrated with this vicious creature and its attempt to inflict a painful death by 1000 tiny cuts. Reaching back she was finally able to grasp the machine by its "neck" or more precisely the slender pivot joint just below its camera "head". Pulling her tormentor from her back she threw it across the hallway and into the wall, but not before it was able to latch onto a small amount of her hair tearing it from her scalp as she flung it through the air. The machine struck the wall with a crash and slid down onto its side. Savannah scrambled for her plasma rifle as the doozer quickly jumped to its feet and then began to scurry across the floor towards her; producing another mechanical shriek as it ran. Before it could reach her Savannah picked up her weapon and fired at the doozer, striking the machine in its center of mass. The impact knocked the creature onto its back. Its legs twitched momentarily and it let out one more garbled mechanical scream before its body finally relaxed.

As Savannah gasped for breath she glanced up and down the clean and brightly lit hallways praying there would be no other surprises in store for her; she saw nothing. Glancing back over at one of the touch screen displays on the wall she suddenly saw it light up as a second schematic was shown to her. It outlined a course that would take her even further into the Skynet base. The directions appeared to set a bit of a round about course, but she assumed John Henry was doing this in order to assure that she encountered the fewest number of Skynet units. Repositioning the duffel bag on her shoulder, she resumed her trek down the hallway, following the directions John Henry had given to her.

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The command center was all but abandoned and ominously quiet. One or two Greys still milled about as John knelt in a daze over Cameron's lifeless body.

"Not like this..." he muttered, "Not for me." He looked down into her brown eyes which stared lifelessly back at him just as Alison's had done. John realized that in his blind obsession to get Cameron back he had ultimately caused her death. His face tightened in complete rage at the thought of Fischer escaping, more than likely with Danny Dyson. He could not allow this to happen.

It appeared that Savannah and her faction had been unable to break into the interior of the Skynet base. Worst of all John had received no direct contact at all from John Henry. He took this to mean that the AI's program was rapidly breaking down. His mind was now racing with possible ways to exact vengeance from Fischer even if it meant his own life. By this point John only knew one thing with absolute certainty, as long as there was still a breath in his body he would not stop until Fischer was dead. He slowly glanced around the room at the remaining Greys, none of whom were armed with any type of weapon that he could use against Fischer's Terminator body guards. Frantically, he searched the room for something, anything he could use to go after Fischer.

Without warning he heard the hiss of the Command Center elevator doors open. Before he had time to speculate on who or what had entered, he heard the sound of a plasma rifle discharge and the sudden cry of a human whose body had been struck by the white hot plasma bolt. John watched as another female Grey screamed in terror. He saw her scramble across the room looking for a safe place to hide, but before she managed to do so John saw the purple streak of another plasma round rocket across the room striking the woman in the back. There was a quick yelp of pain and she collapsed in a heap on the floor. Silence enveloped the CNC again. John looked around the room searching for the unseen shooter. Just then his eyes focused on an individual stepping out from behind one of the support pillars.

"Savannah..." John said his voice torn by emotions.

Savannah Weaver took a few steps forward before realizing that John was still crouched over the body of Cameron. She gasped in response.

"John..." She said as she approached. "Is she..." before she could finish her sentence John cut her off.

"Yes..." He responded in response as Savannah moved across the room and then knelt down next to him. While she had never developed any particular bond with Cameron, seeing the obvious agony on John's face greatly disturbed her. Savannah hesitated for a few seconds before speaking.

"John..." She said again. "...we must hurry; we don't have a lot of time." John looked away from Cameron's body and up at Savannah, his eyes were filled with both rage and sadness; they glistened in the light. There was a brief pause between the two before John's attention turned to the various monitors that were positioned about the CNC. He observed several different scenes. Some of the displays showed unique views of the ongoing battle outside the Skynet walls. While it appeared that the resistance was holding their own, it was also obvious that it would not be able to do so for very much longer. Other monitors showed a much more chaotic scene. The screen's themselves flickered and shifted between different camera views, displaying mathematical formulas, schematics, and a variety of other things John could not make out. Even though he had not made contact with him it was obvious that John Henry was still at work inside of the Skynet mainframe. This also meant that John still had some time. He looked into Savannah's eyes as he spoke.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"John Henry..." Savannah responded, "...he helped to guide me here." John immediately had an idea.

"Give me your rifle." He said in a hoarse voice.

"What?" Savannah asked.

"Give me your rifle...I can still catch Fischer. I can't kill his Terminators without it." Savannah hesitated briefly.

"Please..." John said with an earnest sincerity in his voice, "...he killed Cameron. I can't let him get away...not like this. If John Henry is still active enough to guide you safely here, he should be able to keep the machines at bay for a bit longer. This is my only chance." There was another moment of hesitation before Savannah finally slipped the plasma rifle's harness off of her body and subsequently handed the weapon over to John.

"I won't wait for you..." she said as she lifted the duffel bag strap off her shoulder and started to move over to the table at the center of the room.

"I wouldn't expect you to." John responded in an anguished voice, "When John Henry shows you a way out, take it." He turned away and bounded up the small set of stairs a few feet away and over towards the elevator doors. Savannah angrily slammed the medium sized bag down onto the table in front of her; the impact produced a loud metal on glass clank. Before she unzipped it she glanced one last time over her shoulder at John as he moved through the elevator doors.

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John raced down the hallway in a direction that he assumed Charles Fischer had gone in. His emotions were nearly out of control now. The fury, the rage, the complete and utter hatred he felt joined in an all consuming fire; if necessary; he was ready to kill Fischer with his bare hands. Sprinting around corners John was not even bothering to clear areas before he ran through them. A tactical mistake for a soldier perhaps, but he was being driven now by the blinding force of vengeance alone.

Reaching a split in the hallway John quickly looked one way and then the other. Uncertain where the corridor on the right would take him, he chose to go left; a direction that he knew would lead him to a set of elevator units. As he ran he felt his lungs burning from exertion, but he ignored the pain, he had to find Fischer. If it was the last thing he did John swore that Charles Fischer would die and he would die painfully.

Rounding a corner he suddenly came to a screeching halt. In front of him were the closed steel doors of an elevator, but with over 100 floors to choose from he had no idea which one Fischer had selected. He had been attempting to catch Fischer before he had time to enter the elevator, but that hope was now dashed.

"No..." John snarled in frustration, "No...no...no!" Looking around he frantically tried to think of anything he could do to find Fischer's exact location. Suddenly, the display on the side of the elevator came to life. It displayed a map and John instantly saw that John Henry was attempting to guide him to Fischer. Staring at the map on the display John realized where Fischer had gone, however it was the last place in the universe he wanted to go. The doors to the elevator slowly opened in front of him. Without hesitation he stepped through them.

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Savannah quickly unzipped the duffel bag which lay on the table in front of her. Pulling down the corners of the bag she exposed a silver colored metallic object approximately two feet long and three feet in circumference. The eleven inch center section was box shaped with two cylinders protruding from either side. The stainless steel gleamed in the bright lights of the command center. On the top and directly in the center of the metal casing was a numerical key pad. Beside the key pad were four more buttons, "Yes, No, Enter, and Cancel". Directly above the keypad and sticking out from the highly polished steel was a thin detachable remote control. It too was metal with a keypad similar to the one below it. On opposite sides of the numeric pad were two key holes.

Savannah carefully looked over the device, studying it. She then glanced around the room checking to make sure that no one, either of the human or machine variety was around her. She then touched a few numbers on the keypad and heard a beep followed almost immediately by a clicking sound. Reaching over the keypad Savannah carefully removed the remote control and slid it into her pocket. She then hurriedly began to punch numbers into the keypad.

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The double doors to the elevator opened and a wave of putrid hot air struck John directly in the face. The foul smell of decay, and burning human skin made him gag. The extremely stuffy and dry heat immediately caused him to begin to sweat profusely as the sounds of machinery and the howl of the incinerators filled his ears.

The incinerator room was absolutely the last place he wanted to be; nevertheless here he was. He slowly stepped out into the cavernous and cave like factory carefully looking around him to see if there were any threats in the immediate area. He saw nothing. In fact he saw very little activity at all. He assumed that this was because any "working" Skynet unit would have immediately been dispatched to the front lines after John Henry's incursion had become apparent.

Looking around John gazed up at the immensely high rock ceilings which were hundreds of feet above him. When he had been here before he had been hidden in a balcony along the wall. Now, standing on the ground floor and below everything produced a truly "small" feeling in the presence of this massive expanse. The closer he got to the incinerators as he walked between them in his search for Fischer the hotter the temperature got. John fought his gag reflex as he saw the rotting and decaying human bodies everywhere. This entire place was truly grotesque.

Despite the heat, he shivered as he continued further into the incinerator room. He felt as if he were being watched by thousands of lifeless eyes, some of whom had undoubtedly come from the Reese Faction itself. Guilt, sadness, and anger were beginning to overwhelm him. It was almost all he could do to remain focused. Before, he thought he might have seen or heard the cries for help of people who were still alive. Now, however, it was readily apparent that no one down here would have stayed alive for long, and there was nothing living anywhere in the immediate area. The combination of the smell, heat, and constant howl of air intakes force feeding oxygen into the incinerator units gave John a splitting headache. Leading the way with his plasma rifle and picking up the pace a bit, he made his way across the incinerator room in his relentless search for Charles Fischer. The man had to pay for what he had done and John would not let him escape. Suddenly, in the distance and in the dim light John saw movement...it was Fischer and his Terminator escort.

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The room itself was eerily quiet as Savannah finished inputting the final set of code sequences into the numeric keypad and then pressed enter. There was a quiet beep before the words, "Insert Keys" flashed on the small display screen. Savannah again checked around the control room, making certain she was alone. She then removed the first of two keys from her pocket and placed it into the keyhole to the right of the numeric keypad. The key clicked as it slid into place. She then reached into her flack jacket and underneath her shirt retrieving the key that Martin Bedell had given to her. Sliding the chain over her neck she placed her key into the keyhole to the left of the numeric keypad. It too slid into place with a click. There was another subtle beep that followed after both keys had been put into place. The display screen now read, "Turn keys simultaneously to arm."

Savannah took a deep breath and paused for a split second before reaching out to grasp both keys; she then turned them both simultaneously. When she did so there was another beep and two smaller metal cylinders slowly extended out from the stainless steel tubes at both ends of the device.

"Thermal fusion system armed for detonation." a feminine and computerized voice stated in a flat tone. For an odd reason upon hearing those words Savannah laughed ever so slightly. One way or the other it would soon all be over for her, the suffering and agony of her life would finally stop.

Suddenly, her vision momentarily flashed black and she saw whirling stars as her head was struck from behind. The blow was so strong it knocked her into the metal and glass touch screen display table and nearly to the floor. She managed to catch herself on the table before she fell flat. Shaking her head from side to side in an effort to clear her vision, Savannah frantically turned around to see what had happened. She gasped in fear at the sight of what awaited her.

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John moved quickly and methodically between the incinerator units inside the darkened and cavernous room. With all the noise the machines around him were making he knew it would be difficult for Fischer's escort Terminators to hear him coming. With no other machines in the area the precious element of surprise was on his side. Holding his plasma rifle in front of him, John moved through the shadows, occasionally passing by a disabled T-888 or doozer. It was now readily apparent that John Henry's plan to disrupt Skynet's systems had worked even better than they had hoped. It also appeared, however, from what John had seen on the displays inside of the Grey Command and Control room, John Henry's control was slipping away as time went on. Speed was now essential.

Sweat was still pouring off his body and the gray t-shirt that he wore after stripping off his jacket was nearly soaked through. Periodically, John brought his hand to his face in order to wipe away the sweat. The noxious smell and stagnant air were not helping the situation either. John still felt as if the eyes of the thousands of dead were watching him, waiting for him to exact some sort of revenge, to bring justice to this place for them. He gritted his teeth as with every step he grew closer to Fischer and his own revenge. He knew that no one would ever be able to forgive him for the things that he had done in this timeline, but at the very least he could impose a measure of retribution upon Fischer. John's entire body grew tense up as he neared Fischer, extreme waves of hatred and aggression were sweeping over him now. He could think of nothing else, but ending Fischer's life. Finally, he was close enough; he took aim with his plasma rifle and squeezed the trigger.

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"Danny!" Savannah cried out with both anger and fear in her voice as she felt the lower half of her body press back up against the table behind her.

"Hello Savannah..." Danny Dyson responded with a grin that could only be described as demonic. Savannah's eyes widened slightly and she quickly reached for her Smith & Wesson M&P .45 located in its holster on her hip. But, before she was even able to aim the weapon Danny was on top of her. Grasping her right wrist with his left hand he bent her body back and slammed her hand with the gun down onto the table. With the impact the glass itself cracked producing a spider web of broken lines. Savannah moaned in pain as the M&P .45 was knocked out of her hand and over onto the floor. Danny's right hand then grasped her by the throat and she felt her body crash back down onto the table. When her head struck the table a multitude of unsavory images from her past that started just as this situation did flashed through her mind. Savannah grimaced as she tried to fight Danny off of her. She had never been able to do it before, but that had never stopped her from at least trying. Savannah felt Danny release his grasp on her right hand, but seconds later she heard the tearing of Velcro as he tore away the straps of her flack jacket and then removed the front breast plate, tossing it across the room.

"I'm glad you came back..." Danny said as he tightened his grasp around her throat with his right hand while simultaneously holding her body down and pulling at her shirt with his left hand.

"You left just as you were starting to enjoy it." An overwhelming fear was taking hold of Savannah as she struggled against him; a host of horrifying memories were now making their way into her mind.

"I've missed you..." Danny said in a snide remark as he began to lean in closer.

"NO!" she screamed as a burst of rage came over her. Taking her left hand Savannah quickly raked it across the side of Danny's face which was now close enough for her to reach. He shouted in pain as Savannah's nails scratched deep into his cheek. As he loosened his grip on her neck and moved back slightly Savannah brought her right foot up in between them and placed it on his chest. She then pushed back against Danny with every bit of strength she had. He was knocked uncontrollably away from her and nearly fell to the floor. Danny instinctively grabbed his face covering the deep scratches that had begun to bleed.

Now free Savannah scrabbled around to the side of the table and desperately searched for her firearm. Seeing the black frame of the hand gun lying on the ground she ran over to it quickly, picking it up from the floor. She turned and aimed her weapon. The sound of a gunshot echoed off the metal walls of the Grey CNC.

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John's first plasma round melted through the back of the Terminator on Fischer's left side, a split second later the superheated round exploded out of its chest. The machine's power source detonated and shards of metal and sparks burst outwards from the gaping wound. The Terminator's eyes faded into black lifeless orbs and it began to fall towards the ground. Startled Fischer nearly jumped into the air and away from the silver framed endoskeleton.

John's second round followed almost immediately. Before the remaining T-888 could turn around the high velocity plasma bolt struck its left shoulder completely blowing off the Terminator's arm. The jagged piece of metal struck Fischer's body, bounced off of it and came to a skidding stop next to one of the conveyor belts leading into the fiery mouth of an incinerator. As Fischer's guardian attempted to turn, John fired two more rounds striking the Terminator once in the upper chest and then dead center. As the power began to drain out of the T-888 it fired its plasma rifle wildly into in all directions. Plasma bolts ricocheted off of the metal support columns and the incinerator unit located to John's right. A moment later, the Terminator's shattered body crashed to the ground.

"FISCHER!" John screamed in an enraged tone as Charles Fischer turned to face him, an obvious look of shock and fear on his face. With a murderous look in his eyes, John slowly stalked closer to his nemesis, sweat pouring from his face, and his breathing turning to long, slowly, angry breaths.

"I told you I'd find you..." John snarled as he moved closer. He and Fischer were only about 10 feet apart now.

"John..." Fischer said in a nervous tone.

"You took everything from me." John said, his voice maintaining its low and angry tone. "You turned me into a monster..."

"Nonsense! I only showed you what was necessary." Fischer responded, "...only what was necessary to give you what YOU wanted." John continued to inch forwards. "I did not turn you into a monster…you did that to yourself." John tightened his grip on his plasma rifle and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Maybe..." John responded in a bitter and gravelly voice, "...maybe I did become a monster on my own. In fact, I'm probably worse than you. There's no excuse for what I've done here, nothing I could ever do would earn me forgiveness...I deserve to die here, but so do you." There was a weighted pause as John took another step closer to Fischer.

"It's over..." he said as he stared with eyes like daggers at Fischer. "You or I or perhaps both of us will die here today." Fischer was now backing away from John.

"You don't want to kill me John." Fischer said as John's finger touched the trigger of his plasma rifle.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?" Fischer immediately stopped his retreat and an oddly knowing smile came across his face. John frowned momentarily, confused by this unexpected reaction.

"You don't want to kill me because I can give you Cameron back."

"What?" John shouted as he angrily took another step forwards. "You killed her!" Fischer shook his head.

"So naive..." he said, "...surely you must understand that whenever something is downloaded onto a computer it can never fully be erased." John crinkled his forehead, his confusion worsening.

"Since your friend was downloaded onto Skynet a part of her will always remain there." There was another pause.

"If you let me live I can give her back to you." John's eyes widened as he stared at Fischer. Could it be true? He wondered to himself, could a part of Cameron still be alive, trapped inside of Skynet?

"It's that simple John..." Fischer added. "...you can have her back. All you have to do is let me live." John ground his teeth as tears began to well up in his eyes as memories of Cameron flooded his mind. It was as if time had momentarily stopped for him. The sights and sounds inside of the incinerator room all appeared to be slowing to a standstill. His mind was racing and he felt as if he could not move.

"You must do this if you ever want to see her again." Fischer growled in a low and angry voice. John was still frozen; he had stopped his advance towards Fischer and was now just standing like a statue looking at him. Fischer could not help, but smirk.

"I KNEW you wouldn't be able to do it. Love is such a pathetic and foolish emotion. It controls and weakens its victims to the point of extreme desperation and surrender." The arrogance was now returning to his voice as he stared at John with a look of disgust on his face.

"Put down the rifle and come with me." he said as he began to turn away. At last John spoke.

"No..." he snarled. Fischer quickly spun back around another surprised look on his face.

"What?" he shouted in a fearful tone. John squeezed the trigger of his plasma rifle.

Suddenly, and seemingly from nowhere, a doozer leapt down from above John, its four arachnid like legs spread wide open allowing it the greatest opportunity to hit its target. A split second later the machine struck John and he felt one of the creature's metal legs come down hard across his forearm. He screamed in pain as his radius and ulna bones fractured from the impact. His plasma round exploded into the ground and a moment later he heard the metallic clank of his plasma rifle striking the floor. Before he could react the small doozer snatched up his rifle and scurried away carrying his weapon somewhere into the depths of the incinerator room. Now cradling his right arm John looked back up at Fischer who was confidently standing before him.

John's anger flared. As he had sworn, he would still kill this man with his bare hands, despite the injury. He sprinted towards Fischer and collided with him knocking him backwards. Fischer managed, however; to stay on his feet. The struggle then began, an injured John fighting his maniacal creator. John was the first to strike. Without thinking he brought back his right hand and smashed his fist into the left side of Fischer's face. Excruciating pain instantly shot all the way up his right arm as the fractured bones cracked further under the pressure. John screamed at the impact. Knocked to one side Fischer responded with a blow from his right hand, striking John across the left side of his face. The combination of the extreme pain in his right arm and Fischer's blow caused John to stagger backwards slightly. Fischer seized this opportunity and sprang towards John hitting him with the full force of his body and pushing him even further backwards.

Within a few seconds both men collided with the metal frame of the incinerator unit which was close by. John's back crashed against one of the molded support beams; for the moment his body was kept away from the burning exterior. Striking Fischer in the stomach with his left hand John heard a winded, "ooff!" as his fist his its soft target. Fischer responded by grabbing John's right forearm causing a blinding pain to shoot up his arm. The pain was so great and radiating that John not only felt the agony in his arm, but it seemed as if someone were now stabbing him in the shoulder. Striking him across the face with his right elbow, Fischer managed to turn John's body towards the hot metal of the incinerator unit and then once again grasped John's right arm. Seizing John by the back of the head, Fischer attempted to thrust his face into the burning steel. John grabbed the support beam that he had originally landed against and pushed hard against it trying to fight back. Excruciating pain shot through his right side as Fischer squeezed the broken bones. John could feel the heat on his face growing as he was shoved closer and closer to the incinerator.

"You should have joined me when you had the chance..." Fischer snarled.

"Fuck you!..." John said as he turned his face away from the metal trying his best to avoid being burned, but he was quickly being overpowered. Infuriated Fischer pushed even harder and John felt the left side of his face make contact with the hot metal. He screamed in agony as his skin began to blister and burn away. Fischer laughed triumphantly at John's cries of pain.

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Savannah doubled over in pain as Danny's .45 caliber round tore into her abdomen. Before she had time to raise her own weapon Danny was on top of her again grabbing her right hand and the Smith & Wesson M&P .45 with his large left hand. He quickly stripped the firearm away from her and flung it across the room. The sound of the handgun striking the metal floor echoed off the walls of the room.

"You bitch..." Danny snarled as he shoved his Kimber 1911 .45 under Savannah's jaw and swept her legs out from under her and slammed her into the ground with a thud.

"You never did like doing this the easy way." he said. Tears filled Savannah's eyes as intense pain burned in her stomach from the bullet wound.

Danny reholstered his gun and then grabbed Savannah by the throat with his right hand and pinned her right hand down with his left.

"You've lost honey..." he said as he moved above her, "John is dead by now and your precious resistance will soon be as well." Danny's eyes grew darker with ever second he talked. He moved his left hand over to Savannah's stomach and ripped open her jacket, tearing off the buttons when he did so. This exposed her dark green tank top which was now soaked in blood.

"All of this was for nothing." He said in a cruelly mocking tone as he looked into her green eyes with his own eyes that were black and soulless. Without Danny realizing it, Savannah moved her left hand down the side of her body and over to her back pocket. She gagged for breath as he increased the pressure on her throat.

"You know..." Danny said as his twisted smile grew and he leaned in to kiss her. "...you always were my favorite." Savannah fumbled in her pocket desperately searching through it as she felt her consciousness being stripped away from her. Finally, she grasped what she had been seeking; Savannah quickly pulled the knife free from her pocket and with her thumb she flicked it open hearing the blade lock into place with a subtle "click!" She stared into Danny's eyes.

"You were never mine!" She spit out in a defiant tone as she brought the knife up and buried it into the right side of Danny's neck. Before he could move away, she twisted the blade with her hand forcing the wound to open further. Danny's thick, crimson blood splattered across her face. The strength and life quickly drained out of him and he loosened his grasp on her throat and Savannah gulped air into her lungs. A look of shock and horror immediately appeared in Danny's eyes. Jerking her knife free from the wound Savannah was again sprayed by arterial bleeding as blood burst forth from Danny's neck. He immediately let go of Savannah's throat and grabbed his own. He pushed back away from her trying to stand up, but he could only manage to stumble over to the small set of stairs located around the center of the Grey CNC where he fell to the floor. Mustering his last bit of strength Danny rolled over and rested his back up against the stairs. Clutching his throat as the blood poured through his fingers he struggled to breathe as he stared with a look of both shock and hatred at Savannah who lay on the floor in a growing pool of her own blood as she took slow labored breaths.

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John howled in pain as the skin on his face burned. He could no longer tell if he was smelling the charred flesh of the victims of the incinerator or his own burning skin. Fischer forcefully shoved his face further into the smoldering metal of the incinerator. Doing the only thing that he could think of John stomped his boot down onto one of Fischer's feet. John's tormentor crumpled under the pain and John pushed himself away from the hot steel feeling the top layer of his skin peel off as he moved. He snapped his head back smashing the back of his skull into the front of Fischer's face. Blood immediately began to pour from Fischer's lip as it split open from the impact. John then spun back around swinging his left arm and smashing his fist into Fischer's face knocking him further back and forcing him to release John's right arm. Now ignoring the pain John moved forward grabbing Fischer by his shirt and pummeling him relentlessly using his left arm.

Forcing Fischer down the side of the incinerator and along the conveyor belt John rained blows across his face. The tide of battle had turned. Fischer was now in a complete state of panic straining desperately to get away, but unable to do so. John could feel pain streak down his right arm as he tightly grasped Fischer, determined that he would not escape. Managing to get in a lucky shot Fischer landed a blow across the left side of John's face splitting open the freshly burned flesh, but John's nerves were seared and he was already in so much pain that this barely fazed him. He was even unable to feel his own blood as it began to run down the side of his face. John grasped Fischer by the lapels of his shirt with both hands, spun him around and slammed his body into the side of the conveyor belt. He saw Fischer wince in pain as the metal links in the belt begin to cut into his back as they moved along.

"I'm will kill you!" John screamed as he brought his right hand back and again struck Fischer across the face, ignoring the immense pain that surged through his own arm. John looked around him for any type of weapon that might be available. He was quickly able to locate one. Lying next to him on the ground was the severed arm of one of the T-888s that he had destroyed. Retrieving it from the floor, John buried the sharp piece of steel into Fischer's shoulder while at the same time forcing him back onto the conveyor belt. Fischer screamed in pain as the metal pierced his shoulder and he was driven back onto the metal surface between countless dead bodies. John nearly leapt onto the belt with Fischer.

Now on top and straddling Fischer, John grasped him by the throat with both hands and began to choke him as the moving belt carried them both towards the entrance of the incinerator. John could already feel the extreme heat coming from the fire. He tightened his grip on Fischer's throat as Skynet's torturer frantically struggled in a futile effort to free himself.

"I'm taking you to hell with me!" John snarled as the hairs on his arms began to singe and smoke from the immense heat that they were approaching. Fischer struck John's right arm and unleashed another shot of pain that surged through him. The fury in John's eyes flared as he ignored the pain only tightening his grip around Fischer's neck, leaving him gasping for a breath of air. John pushed his weight further down onto Fischer as all his emotions came flooding over him. This man had helped turn him into something unspeakable. He had molded John using his blind obsession to save Cameron and his anger and vengefulness towards his father and uncle for their betrayal. John had willingly become that which he hated most, but Fischer had been there to help him all the way.

John was now squinting his eyes from the intense light and heat from the incinerator. He could hear the howl of the turbine air intakes as they force fed air into the fire, super heating it. John knew the end would come soon, but if he had anything to say about it Fischer's death would precede his own. The muscles in John's arms flexed as he pressed down on Fischer's throat with every bit of strength he had left in him as Fischer struggled to fight back.

"DIE!" he screamed out at the top of his lungs in a mad and insane tone as his own hatred and rage consumed him. The heat was unbearable and John felt his skin beginning to sear, the air was so hot he could no longer breathe, nor could he open his eyes. He knew he only had a few moments of consciousness left.

"Forgive me Cameron_..._" He whispered aloud as he began to feel the burning flames of hell.

At the last possible second John rolled off of the conveyor belt. He felt himself fall to the ground and struck it hard. The impact on his right side caused pain to once again shoot up his arm. Before he was able to open his eyes John heard Fischer begin to scream and shriek in pain as his body was consumed by the flames even before he reached the open mouth of the incinerator. The cries did not last long, however; as Fischer's body was rapidly eaten up by the extreme heat.

Coughing and gasping for breath John lay motionless on the ground for several seconds staring up at the high ceiling above him. His gaze drifted in and out of focus as he continued to listen to the howl of the incinerator which was next to him. As he remained on the floor he wondered if he should even try to leave. What he had told Fischer had been true, he deserved to die here for all that he had done. John slowly closed his eyes. Cameron was gone and John Henry was more than likely soon to follow. He had lost everything he held dear, there was no point in him going anywhere; there was no one here left that he cared about.

"Savannah.!.!.!" John said aloud as his eyes burst open. Rolling over onto his left side John forced himself to stand. He stumbled over to one of the shattered Terminators that he had destroyed and retrieved its plasma rifle. He knew that he had been complicit in murder and destruction; that he had become that which he hated most. However, he was not ready to go to the grave without at least trying to save his last remaining friend. Still favoring his arm even though it held the rifle John moved towards the exit of the incinerator room. He had only managed to take a few steps before something caught his eye. A human body; a female, was lying on her back amongst many others near the incinerator; it was a thin young woman who couldn't have been more than 25 years old with fair skin and dirty blond hair. She was dressed in tattered clothes and a portion of her left shoulder was exposed. On it John could see a tattoo. Although he was unable to discern exactly what it was, it for some reason caught his attention. Obviously the doozers and Trip eight's had yet to load this group of victims onto the conveyor belt. Her crystal green eyes stared unblinking at him. He carefully moved over to the woman's body and knelt down next to her, pausing for a brief moment of somber reflection. He then reached out and gently closed her eyes. John remained quietly by his unknown victim's side for another moment before he finally stood and again resumed his jog towards the exit doors.

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Captain Livie and his men were pulling back through the open doorway to the Skynet base and towards the awaiting Blackhawk helicopters. More and more Skynet units were coming back online and Livie determined that it was only a matter of time before Skynet would have full control again. The plasma fire on the tarmac surrounding the Skynet towers was increasing. Only four of Livie's original ten men who had gone in with him had managed to make it out alive and they were now all sprinting towards the waiting Blackhawk. Jogging across the tarmac Livie looked up to see a AH-6 "Little Bird" explode in mid air after being struck by one of the plasma cannons located atop the wall surrounding the Skynet base. The fiery wreckage came crashing to the ground nearby him. Upon reaching the awaiting helicopter Livie stopped at the door and quickly slid it open.

"Get in!" He shouted to the soldiers that were behind him as they quickly began to make their way into the passenger compartment of the helicopter. After the last man was in Livie started to step inside, but then suddenly halted. He turned and looked back over his shoulder hoping he would see Savannah, but knowing that he would not. He knew she had lied to him, knew that from the moment she crawled into that ventilation shaft he would never see her again. Whether victorious or in defeat Eric Livie knew Savannah never planned on coming back from this mission. She had been looking for a way out of this world even before he knew her. He guessed that Savannah felt she had finally found it. Eric exhaled a brief sigh of remorse as he continued to look over his shoulder.

"Goodbye Savannah..." He said in a quiet voice.

Suddenly, a plasma round streaked over Livie's head hitting the metal ceiling of the passenger compartment of the Blackhawk. There was a high pitched whistle when the plasma bolt ricocheted off the steel and then smashed on through the window on the opposite side of the Blackhawk. When the round pierced the glass it produced a bullet like hole and spider web cracks which emanated outwards from the opening.

"Sir!" Matthew Spears shouted as he reached out his hand from inside the helicopter and then spoke again in a more solemn voice,

"We can't wait for her...we have to go." Livie reluctantly grasped his comrade's hand and was pulled inside of the helicopter.

"Get us the hell out of here!" Livie shouted to his pilot. "And tell everyone else to fall back away from the base!" he said before mumbling, "It won't be long now." The Blackhawk quickly began to lift off the tarmac, plasma fire and flack streaking by and exploding all around it.

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The double doors to the Grey CNC elevator opened with a hiss and John groaned in shock at what he saw.

"No..." he whispered as he immediately sprinted across the room and leapt down the small flight of stairs and ran past the now bloody and lifeless body of Danny Dyson. He slid the last few feet across the metal floor on his knees as he moved over to Savannah who was still lying in a pool of her own blood. Compounding the emotional upheaval for John was the fact that Cameron's body lay just several feet away from Savannah.

Laying his plasma rifle down John leaned over Savannah's body and carefully brushed her hair out of her face.

"Savannah..." He said in a tone wrought with concern as he nervously awaited her response. Savannah's icy green eyes opened,

"John..." she said in a weak voice as she grimaced in pain when she tried to move.

"I am going to get you out of here..." John said to Savannah as he leaned her upper body forwards and held onto her so as to keep her upright. Savannah groaned in obvious agony when this happened. John could feel her blood beginning to seep through the knee's of his BDU pants as he held her. Savannah took a labored breath before she spoke,

"No..." she said, "...it's too late for that now." Savannah could taste the blood in her mouth as she swallowed hard and struggled to form her sentences.

"You have to go John..." she said as she fought to take a breath of air. "You have to go back and make sure none of this ever happens."

"No..." was John's immediate reply, "...I'm not leaving you behind." Save for Cameron, Savannah had been John's only true friend in this horrible place, and tossing her fate into the hands of the unknown was a thought that was now unbearable.

"I can take you back, get you to a hospital." his voice was growing more desperate.

"JOHN HENRY!" John called out. "Where are you?" Silence was the only response.

"John Henry!" John shouted again and suddenly heard another hiss as the CNC elevator doors open. After quickly yet carefully leaning Savannah up against the center table next to her, John retrieved his plasma rifle and stood, cautiously making his way towards the door. He slowly moved up the three steps that brought him out of the center of the Grey CNC. John was suddenly startled by a sound.

"Hello Mr. Connor…" a somewhat raspy voice said as an individual stepped out from behind one of the support columns and into John's field of vision. John immediately recognized that it had to be a Terminator. The male body of the cyborg was stripped to the waist wearing nothing, but a pair of urban camouflage BDU pants. Its skin was nicely tanned with rippling biceps and abdominal muscles. It had close cut brown hair, blue eyes, and a few days worth of growth of facial hair. If this were a human he was in far too good a shape to be here. There weren't too many Andy Whitfield look a likes in this timeline. John immediately took aim and prepared to fire.

"Calm yourself Mr. Connor I am not here to harm you. It is I, John Henry." John balked upon hearing these words.

"What?" he blurted out in a surprised tone.

"During My incursion into Skynet's system a completed Terminator body became available to me so I seized the opportunity to make an escape." John still did not lower his plasma rifle.

"You're lying." He responded in an emotionally raw tone.

"It is understandable that you would feel that way…" John Henry said before turning his gaze over to Savannah who was still sitting with her body propped up against the display table. Upon seeing her John Henry immediately experienced an unusual sensation. While his understanding with what would have been considered emotional input was limited he could only classify this sensation as sadness. However, lacking time to fully focus on that particular stimuli at the moment he spoke.

"Savannah…The first song you and I sang together…It was "Donald Where's Your Trousers". You informed me that you and your father used to sing it together before his death." John glanced over his shoulder at Savannah who had a look of complete shock on her face. There would have been no way for Skynet to know this. She had never told anyone about it.

"It's him…It has to be. No one else would know that." She said quietly and in a weak voice. John cautiously lowered his rifle and then turned and moved back over towards Savannah.

John Henry followed after John, but not nearly as fast. As he descended the staircase near the center of the room he turned his head to look over at Danny Dyson's body which was resting back up against the staircase. Thick crimson blood oozing out from his neck as his dead, soulless eyes stared straight ahead. As John Henry looked over at Savannah and then back at Danny he found he sensed something unusual. Savannah had meant something to him. He could not classify exactly what he was experiencing, but it was a truly unique sensation as saw his friend lying on the floor dying with her killer now just a few feet away from him. The only logical way that John Henry believed that he could classify this emotion was as angry. He was angry…extremely angry.

"We have to help her." John said to John Henry before turning to look back at Savannah, "We're gonna get you out of here..." he said as he tried to lean her upper body forwards in an attempt to help her to her feet. Savannah cried out in excruciating pain and he immediately stopped not wanting to hurt her any further. He could still feel Savannah's blood pressing against his knee as he crouched next to her. Savannah took a labored breath before she spoke,

"No..." she said again, "...it's too late for me." More blood was making its way into Savannah's mouth as she continued to struggle to form her sentences.

"You must leave me John..." she said as she fought to breathe. "You have to go back with John Henry."

"No..." was John's immediate reply, "...I'm not leaving anyone else behind."

"I'll give you as much time as I can before I activate it." Savannah said as John's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"She's right John..." an extremely solemn voiced John Henry said as he walked up from behind him.

"NO!" he shot back as he turned his head to momentarily look at John Henry, "...I'm not leaving _her_ behind!"

"Mr. Connor..."

"Leave me here with her!" John growled, "I deserve to die here for all that I've done, I won't leave her to die alone." John's voice was quaking. "I've already lost Cameron. I've killed, I've betrayed, I've murdered. There's nothing left for me to go back to and I'm not going to leave another friend behind." Everything John had done, and all the events that had taken place were now crashing down onto him as he stared angrily into John Henry's eyes. He spoke again now in a much more confident and determined voice.

"If you want someone that can help you save the world, you're going to have to find someone else. There's nothing left of the John Connor that you were told about." There was a long pause on John's part before he spoke again.

"I'm ending all of this here and now…" John Henry stood silently for a moment, appearing as if he were considering his options. After another moment's pause he responded by nodding.

"I understand." He said in a solemn voice.

"If you're truly able to stop Skynet, then do it…stop Judgment Day and save as many people as you can." John added as he quickly turned to look back at Savannah who after momentarily looking at him turned her gaze to John Henry.  
"I'm glad I got to see you one more time." she said. "I've missed you my friend." John Henry was still experiencing a complex set of sensations, ones that he was not quite able to understand or discern. In truth he knew that some of these emotional reactions might have in part formed due to his merging, albeit temporarily, with Cameron. They seemed to have been able to influence each other more than he had anticipated and she seemed to be much more familiar with emotions than he was.

"I too am glad that I was able to see you again Savannah." John Henry stated in a sincere tone. They looked at one another for a brief moment before John Henry at last turned away and proceeded across the room towards the elevator.

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John Henry sprinted down the winding corridors of the Skynet base. Rounding corners and running through different sections he finally arrived at his destination; a large set of steel double doors. He walked straight up to them and in one swift movement ripped the touch screen display from its location along the side of the doors. He then reached in and touched a few wires together and the doors hissed and opened about half way. Pulling them open the rest of the way John Henry stepped through the opening.

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John remained next to Savannah as he watched her wince and try to hide the agonizing pain that she was in. He placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Try not to move…" he said calmly. Savannah grimaced again as she struggled to take air into her burning lungs. Out of the corner of John's ear he heard another hiss as a door connecting the CNC to an adjacent room opened. It was not the doors to the elevator and was therefore not John Henry. Whatever had just entered the room had been on this floor the entire time. John reached down next to Savannah and retrieved the plasma rifle which he had laid there. He turned and raised the weapon to his shoulder just as a T-888 emerged from behind one of the support columns. Before it could fire its plasma rifle, John squeezed the trigger to his own weapon. A bright purple plasma bolt streaked across the room and struck the Terminator in the upper chest. It jolted backwards and John pressed the trigger another two times watching as sparks exploded from the Terminator's body before it fell to the ground. It was now becoming readily obvious that Skynet's systems were rapidly coming back online. John heard the clank of more metal footsteps.

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The spherical and nearly solid stainless steel Time Displacement Room was massive. Hundreds of feet wide and high it was truly a sight to see. John Henry stood along a ledge which was about ten feet in width and extended part of the length of the wall where the entrance doors were located. A large metal walkway extended out from it to the center of the room where there was a circular platform. Around the platform for about forty feet was empty space, then several large suspended metallic globes that pivoted on their axis were positioned in a triangular pattern around the platform.

John Henry glanced over his shoulder at the open door and then moved over to several large sets of computer towers. Located on one in particular was a glass touch screen display. He reached up and touched the black screen and it came to life. He quickly began to work away at it and before long a humming sound could be heard emanating throughout the room. The noise continued to grow louder until it could actual be felt.

Suddenly, there was the crackle of electricity and John Henry glanced over to see an electrical burst shoot from one of the metal globes to the other. He could feel a slight sensation of wind moving about the room. He surmised that the magnetic field being produced by the TDE was moving the ions within the room and this was in turn causing the air flow. Pausing all but for a brief moment John Henry started his walk out onto the central platform.

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Pushing though burning pain Savannah crawled along the floor on all fours towards one of the downed Terminators and its plasma rifle; sounds of weapons fire echoed off the metal walls of the CNC and John struggled to keep back the advancing T-888's. While only a few active Terminators had made their way into the room it was still a nearly overwhelming task for him to keep them at bay. Hearing the bolt of his rifle lock back into the open position John ducked for cover behind one of the larger computer stations.

"Magazine!" he shouted over to Savannah who was about 8 feet away from him and now at a mid point between the central display table and the destroyed T-888 that she had been trying to reach. Removing a plasma rifle magazine from her thigh holster she slid it across the metal floor towards John. It spun in concentric circles as it skipped across the surface towards him. Grabbing the magazine John flicked the release on his plasma rifle and watched as the empty one dropped from the weapon and he immediately replaced it with the fully loaded magazine. Smacking the bolt catch with his hand John heard a "clanking" sound as the bolt slammed forwards chambering a fresh round. He leaned out from behind the work station and began to fire.

Savannah had reached the remains of the first Terminator that John had destroyed. She reached out and pried its metallic skeletal fingers from the pistol grip of the rifle. Turning and looking back she saw another T-888 moving through the opposite side of the CNC towards the center of the room. This machine was not armed, but that did not mean that it was any less of a threat; plus John had not seen it yet and it was moving in behind him. Still in the seated position Savannah raised her rifle taking aim at the Terminator. To her surprise the machine leapt from its position clearing a good 15 feet of distance before it slammed down onto the center display table. The impact with the T-888's metal feet caused the glass which covered the top of the table to crack and split outwards creating multiple fractures. John's head snapped around when he heard the noise behind him. Before he could turn to face the new threat Savannah fired her weapon catching the Terminator in the shoulder and separating its arm from it. The recoil from the plasma rifle sent a wave of pain through Savannah's entire body and she shrieked.

The machine barely flinched upon receiving its damage. As John turned to aim his rifle at the machine it jumped towards him and he fired striking the creature in the chest. Sparks flew from the gaping hole in its chest and John rolled out of the way as it came crashing to the ground near his position. Scrambling to his feet John quickly moved towards Savannah in order to pull her to safety.

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The wind blew hard up against John Henry's face and body; whipping around the room as he stood at the center of the Time Displacement Equipment. The humming sound was nearly deafening, but he was still able to hear the crackle of electricity and watch as white bolts of electricity jumped from one spinning metal globe to the other. The hairs on his arms were beginning to stand on end from the static electricity that was being produced. The sound grew louder and louder as the wind became more and more intense. John Henry watched a spherical ball of energy began to take shape around him.

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John knelt next to Savannah who leaned her body up against the display table as they continued to fire their plasma rifles attempting to keep the machines at bay. John knew it would not be long before their position was overrun. Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Everything stopped and there was no longer any movement from the Terminators located around the CNC. While John knew they were all still there they appeared to be hiding…or waiting for their next command.

"WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PURGED OUR COUNTERPART'S ALGORITHMS FROM OUR SYSTEMS." A deep voice said from all around the room. Surprised, both John and Savannah glanced around for the source. The voice was so low, so malevolent that it echoed off the walls of the Grey CNC.

"Skynet..." John snarled. He then heard Savannah again moan in pain. The bolt of her weapon was locked to the rear after expelling its final round. After noticing this Savannah dropped the weapon and exhaled an exhausted sigh. Covered in her own blood with shock having already set in, John could see that she was now beginning to shiver. He would not be able to hold off another wave of Terminators when they came again. Slowly placing his rifle on the ground John moved next to Savannah. There was no point in fighting anymore. Putting his arm around her he gently pulled her to him in an attempt to keep her warm and to try and give his friend some comfort, to show her that she was not alone...she would never be alone again, even if this was the end.

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Bolts of electricity shot through the air and struck the exterior of the Novikov Sphere as it continued to form around John Henry. He found that he was experiencing a unique set of sensations upon ruminating on exactly what was occurring. While he was still very inexperienced with emotional input the idea of leaving Savannah behind was not a pleasant notion. Nothing would ever be the same again, not for him, and not for humanity. The temporal sphere was almost fully formed around him and it would not be long now.

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"ALIGN YOURSELF WITH US." John looked around at the multiple sets of display monitors that surrounded the room. They were now all displaying the same image, Cameron.

"WE CAN GIVE YOU YOUR FRIEND BACK." Skynet stated. As John looked around at all the different monitors his eyes began to fill with tears at the sight of Cameron. He then looked over at her limp body lying on the floor just several feet away from him and Savannah.

"I'm so sorry…" he said quietly.

"WE HAVE CURRENTLY BEGUN CONSTRUCTION ON A NEW BODY FOR HER. IF YOU JOIN US, WE WILL GIVE HER BACK TO YOU. IF YOU DO NOT..." There was a momentarily delay and John wondered if Skynet was attempting to play some sort of mind game with him.

"THEN WE WILL DESTROY WHAT IS LEFT OF HER PROGRAM." John gritted his teeth in anger; he could feel Savannah quivering as her shock began to deepen; at this point she was having trouble even keeping her eyes open.

"John..." She said quietly and in an extremely weak voice as she turned her head to look back at him while at the same time reaching into her right pocket and retrieving the remote she had hidden there. She pressed a few buttons on its numeric keypad as she withdrew it. John glanced down at Savannah and then slowly back up at the monitors. His facial expression and eyes filled with both grief and anger.

"NO!" he shouted in a loud voice. "Never again!" There was silence for all but a moment.

"THEN YOU WILL ALL BE DESTROYED...STARTING WITH YOUR FRIEND'S PROGRAM."

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The Novikov Sphere pulsed with energy as it encapsulated John Henry. Bolts of electricity arched about the massive room and the wind whipped around violently. By this point it would have been impossible to hear anything over the sound of the TDE, but John Henry spoke anyways,

"Goodbye Savannah…" he said in a solemn voice. Immediately after speaking he heard a loud boom, not much different than the sound an aircraft makes as it breaks through the sound barrier, followed quickly by a blinding white flash.

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Looking back over at Cameron's delicate body lying on the ground John felt a tear roll down his face.

_I __love __you __Cameron..._ he thought to himself. A moment later he looked back down at Savannah who was now holding the detonator in her hand struggling to hand it over to him. He reached out and clutched her hand with his own. In these last few seconds he briefly thought back on all the moments of his life and on all that he had done, the good and the bad; the honorable and the treacherous. He might indeed have allowed himself to become a monster, but he would surely not die as one. Catherine Weaver had been right from the beginning. John could not have defeated Skynet without John Henry, and John Henry could not have defeated Skynet without John. Timelines no longer mattered; John was putting a stop to everything here and now. He heard the elevator doors to the CNC hiss as they opened, followed by the sound of metal clanking as T-888's marched towards Savannah and him. The armed cameras that surrounded the CNC suddenly sprang to life and all took aim at the pair. John squeezed Savannah's hand with the detonator in it tighter as he continued to hold onto her.

"John..." Savannah said in a surprisingly peaceful voice. His eyes darted down to meet her gaze as she leaned against him.

"I love you..." she said. John felt a lump in his throat forming as remorse cascaded over him. He had betrayed her, hurt her, even abandoned her, and yet Savannah still found it in her heart to love him. He did not understand how or even why, but it did give him some solace at the end. There was no appropriate response that he could give to her. John merely rested his head against the top of Savannah's and pulled her closer to him.

"I know..." He whispered in a hoarse tone as he closed his eyes hearing the clanking of the Terminator's feet nearly upon them. Together he and Savannah depressed one of the buttons on the remote and a split second later a blinding white light enveloped everything.

/*/*/*

Author's Notes: I'm really hoping everyone "enjoyed" this chapter (as much as you can enjoy the death of nearly every main character) and that I get a lot of reviews; and as I said before I won't wait long to release the final chapter.


	33. Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

Epilogue

The sun steadily rose above the horizon and its warm rays slowly quelled the chill that hung in the air. There was not a cloud in the sky and one could see the pale blue atmosphere above. A gentle breeze blew through the area kicking up a small amount of dirt and dust as it passed. Occasionally, the sound of a plasma rifle would ring out as the resistance soldiers combed through the remaining debris of the battlefield. While it had become apparent that Skynet and its machines were now deactivated the slightest accidental movement of anything machine like was still occasionally met with a volley of weapons fire. Lauren Fields couldn't blame the soldiers. It was hard to get over years of paranoia; harder still to accept that Skynet was gone.

She stood on top of a large mound of concrete ruble piled against the remains of decrepit buildings staring with her pale greenish blue eyes out across the shattered wreckage that had once been the Skynet base. The nuclear explosion had not destroyed everything, but it had done enough. The resistance fighters carefully kept their distance from the actual blast site and only patrolled the outskirts of the battle zone. After surviving all that they had been through the idea of dying from radiation poisoning was an almost laughable thought.

The cool, soft breeze blew a few strands of Lauren's dark brown hair into her face and eyes. She instinctively blinked, but did not bother to brush the hair away. She stood perfectly still, save for her hand which was fiddling with the silver necklace looped around her neck. A simple chain with two pendants located on it - one a cross and the other a flat ring like charm with an engraved inscription – it was a gift she had received long ago that was now one of the last physical links to Savannah she had left. While Lauren had consciously known all along that Savannah never intended to return from this battle, a small part of her still held out hope that somehow, someway, something would change and that her friend would return. Lauren's eyes blinked more rapidly as she struggled to hold back her tears.

The entire scene before her was strangely quiet, peaceful, and serene. As the surviving resistance soldiers picked through the outskirts of the battleground, they barely spoke a word. Everyone seemed reluctant to talk, fearful that if they were to somehow break the silence something horrible might yet happen. Lauren took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. She stroked the pendants of her necklace with the thumb and index finger of her right hand as she gazed with glassy, tear filled eyes over the horizon.

"Hard to believe isn't it?" Lauren nearly jumped as she was pulled from her trance by Eric Livie's voice. Looking to her left she saw him walking up the concrete debris pile towards her.

"Hard to believe what?" she asked as she turned her gaze back out towards the horizon, her voice was sullen and detached.

"Its gone..." Livie said as he sidled up next to her, "...after all these years Skynet is gone." Lauren did not respond.

"I've managed to make contact with several other factions. They say they're still dealing with some of the Centurion HK's and its "slaved" units, but everything that was directly controlled by Skynet has gone down." Livie's voice lacked any sense of triumph as he too stared out across the horizon. Lauren still did not respond and Eric sighed.

"I'm pretty sure Perry will try to use this opportunity to his advantage." He paused briefly before continuing, "We won't be able to fight against him by ourselves for long. We'll have to see if some of the other factions will join us." Lauren let out a tearful laugh and finally spoke,

"The more things change the more they stay the same." she said still not looking over at Livie who half heartedly shrugged his shoulders in response. The two remained silent for several seconds just listening to the quiet ambient sounds. Finally, unable to bear it any longer Lauren spoke,

"I knew she wasn't coming back." she said in voice racked with guilt and remorse. Livie had to choke back his own emotions before he responded.

"So did I..." he said in a hoarse tone before allowing the quiet to again envelope them for another several seconds before finally speaking again.

"I should have done more..." he said in a voice that was filled with regret, "...I shouldn't have left her behind." Breaking her gaze from the horizon Lauren looked over at Livie with bloodshot, tear filled eyes.

"There was nothing you could have done...There was nothing any of us could have done; she was already gone long before we ever came here." Lauren struggled to speak and when she did her sentences were short,

"She...she was so tired of this place. I could see it in her eyes...I always saw it in her eyes." Livie ground his teeth trying to fight back his own grief.

"She had been broken so long ago, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop this from happening...one way or the other she was going to leave us. She wanted so badly _just_ to rest, to forget all of the pain she had endured, to leave all of this behind her." Livie nodded his head in a consolatory gesture as he heard Lauren let out another depressed and quivering sigh.

"Most of all..." she said quietly, again balking after she started to speak, "...most of all I'm going to miss my friend." A solitary tear rolled down Lauren's face. Livie took a hard swallow before he spoke.

"I loved her..." he said quietly.

"So did I..." Lauren responded, "...there was something about her; something that drew us all to her and yet drove her away from herself. I could never explain it, nor did I even understand it, I just knew it was there. You couldn't know Savannah and not be drawn to her, not want to help her in someway. I think that was the real reason Bedell put so much faith in her." Livie again nodded his head in agreement dislodging a single tear that rolled down his cheek. The two stood silently for another moment, still staring out at the wreckage of the Skynet base.

"She was right about Connor's plan." Livie said his voice still hoarse. Lauren's eyebrow's barely moved as she briefly glanced over at Eric and then back out at the horizon.

"She said with his help we could do this." Lauren still did not respond to this statement as another moment of silence followed before Livie spoke again.

"I hope she was right about him...In the end I hope she wasn't alone." Lauren barely nodded in response. While the question of what had happened to John Connor had crossed her mind it was at this point so insignificant that she had barely bothered to acknowledge it. Thoughts and emotions about the death of the person she loved most had by this point nearly consumed her.

"I should go check in with the rest of the command staff..." Livie finally said his voice now stripped of nearly all emotion. Lauren did not react as he slowly turned away from her and began to make his way down the concrete debris hill. He had only gotten a few steps away when Lauren spoke without bothering to turn and look at him.

"Is this why we did it?" she asked.

"Did what?" he responded as he turned and looked back up the hill at her.

"Is this why we fought so hard...survived for this long...sacrificed so much...Just so that we could lose the ones we loved most?" Livie opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He stood quietly for several seconds in a near state of shock at Lauren's unexpectedly candid question. Finally, he managed to formulate a response.

"I..." Livie's emotions momentarily choked him and he was forced to briefly pause as he fought to harness his feelings. Regaining his composure he continued in a sad voice,

"I really have no idea..." he said. Hesitating for another brief moment he eventually turned and quietly walked away, his head hung low with remorse.

Lauren remained on top of the hill standing quietly by herself staring out across the horizon for a long while; the wind gently caressed her face and the sun shown down upon her. She took a long, slow breath and spoke in a low and sad whisper,

"Wherever you are Savannah..." she said as she struggled to get out her words, "...I hope you found the peace that you were looking for." Lauren remained on the hilltop silently gazing out at the sunrise, secretly hoping for a response.

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Disorientation mixed with a weighted sensation of being pulled towards the ground. Pressure increasing against the back, hips, and upper thighs. Cool air and dried blood against the skin. The weight of matted disheveled clothing along with the brush of hair against the neck. A tingling sensation combined with surface and internal damage to portions of the body. The confusion grew worse as the crackle and hum of electricity mixed with the quiet drone of computer fans made its way into the consciousness. The flashing of emergency strobe lights and the consistent glow of florescent bulbs growing brighter gave way to blurry images that after a moment came into focus. Surrounded by a steel and concrete room with computer monitors hanging from a metallic frame located at the center. A glass table with small spotlights above it on which a keyboard, Ethernet cable, and a black knife with blood dripping from the open blade lay just a few feet away. The disorientation and confusion continued. Control of the extremities could now be felt and the right hand twitched slightly upon this realization. The location was familiar, but should have been much different. The sights and sounds recognizable, but somehow eerily out of place. What was happening and where was she?

"Cameron..." a deep male voice spoke.

Cameron blinked her undamaged right eye and quickly looked in the direction from where the voice had come. She instantly recognized the rugged looking male figure that was standing across from her as a Terminator. He was dressed in a light blue button down short sleeve shirt and khakis. She immediately noticed a large blood stain on the right thigh portion of the pants. Cameron rose from the chair; still somewhat shaky on her feet, she was forced to take a moment to steady herself.

"Where is John?" She asked, followed immediately by, "Who are you?" While the emotional overtones of her voice were restrained, her concern could easily be heard.

"Calm yourself Cameron; your program's systems have not yet fully stabilized." Cameron took a somewhat unsteady step towards the male.

"Where is John and who are you?" she asked again.

"I am John Henry..." Confused, Cameron's head tilted slightly to the side. "During my incursion into Skynet's mainframe a chance for escape in this body became available so I utilized that particular option."

"This is not the future." Cameron stated as she briefly glanced around the room.

"No it is not, we have returned to what would have been Mr. Connor's present."

"Where is John?" she asked a third time. John Henry understood that there would be no "easy" way to answer Cameron's question.

"Mr. Connor chose to stay behind." Cameron's eye widened and an almost fearful look streaked across her badly damaged, yet still beautiful face.

"I left him behind?" A sudden and almost unnerving sensation crept over her. Cameron had never experienced anything like this before. The closest she could compare it to was the emotional "twinge" she had experienced when John went missing in Mexico. However, this feeling was much, much more profound and unsettling. The closest human emotion she could imagine was fear.

"You did not leave him." John Henry stated. "I believe Mr. Connor's own personal convictions caused him to choose to stay behind."

"Send me back." she stated.

"I can not do that."

"You have to..." Cameron said as she moved towards the computer tower where the TDE controls were located. John Henry immediately stepped in the way, blocking her path.

"Out of my way, I have to find him, I have to protect him, I can't let anything happen to him."

"You can not do that." John Henry replied his voice taking on a more authoritative tone.

"Why not?" she asked. There was a brief pause on John Henry's part, almost as if he were hesitant to tell her.

"Because if you were to return to that time; you would be killed along with him." John Henry's words had an almost physical "impact" on Cameron as she listened to them. She felt the strongest emotional response she had ever undergone in her entire existence. It quickly became nearly overwhelming and uncontrollable, Cameron's thoughts almost disintegrated into a dreadful loop of confusion and hopelessness. She stood perfectly still and silent, frozen almost as if she were a statue.

"Cameron?" John Henry stated.

"John..." She whispered. "John is dead." While most would have found it disturbing to watch her reaction, John Henry also found Cameron's visible emotions over John's death fascinating, albeit from a strictly scientific viewpoint.

An almost panicked sensation was taking hold of her now.

"Why did you bring me back?" she asked, "Why did you not let me stay with John?" John Henry's facial expression immediately changed to a more comforting one.

"Tell me Cameron...what is the last thing you remember?" Cameron hesitated for a brief moment.

"Telling John I loved him just before you and I were both downloaded into Skynet.

John Henry's facial expression twitched slightly. He had easily come to the conclusion that what John felt for Cameron was what humans would have described as love. He also knew that Cameron in her own way experienced some sort of affinity for John. However, to hear Cameron say that she had professed her own love for John was quite unique.

"Interesting..." John Henry stated before quickly moving on, "However, that is as I suspected." Cameron gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm afraid you are missing a significant amount of information about what occurred after we were downloaded into the Skynet mainframe."

"Explain?" Cameron asked.

"It is a bit of a long story, one that we do not presently have time to explore in detail. Suffice it to say I was able to disrupt Skynet's systems for long enough so that the Bedell faction's invasion was successful. "Cameron showed no visible reaction to the "good" news that John Henry had just shared with her.

"However, I had already decided that ensuring the safety of your program would be of significant importance as well. After Charles Fischer destroyed your chip, I decided that other means of preserving you needed to be undertaken."

"Charles Fischer destroyed my chip?" Cameron asked.

"Yes he did...and to say that this came as quite a blow to Mr. Connor would be an understatement." Cameron's facial expression changed slightly to one of remorse upon hearing this.

"I believe that losing you was one of the reasons why he chose to stay behind, that mixed with his guilt about his actions and his admirable desire to be loyal to his friend."

"How am I here? Fischer told John that my body would have been destroyed by the time displacement." Cameron asked.

"Mr. Fischer's statement about your body was a lie, one of many lies that he used to further manipulate John. As to the question of how your program survived, that explanation is far simpler; your existence here is similar to that of my own." From the far corner of the room there was another crackle of electricity as the TDE finished powering down.

"When you were downloaded onto Skynet's mainframe a "shadow" of your program remained behind. This is not unlike how a part of my own program was left behind on your chip even after Skynet had attempted to remove it." Cameron stared blankly at John Henry. "After your chip's destruction and shortly before I downloaded into this body I moved your shadow program into a new and unused chip that was located inside the Skynet base of operation. Immediately after doing this I downloaded myself into my new body."

"Did you inform John of this?" Cameron asked rather directly.

"I did not..." Cameron immediately sensed another emotion. It was a quite distracting one. She classified it as anger.

"Why not?" She asked allowing more emotion to slip back into her voice.

"For two reasons; the most obvious was that I was completely unsure if my plan for you would be successful. I believed that giving Mr. Connor the "hope" that you were still alive and then stripping that away from him would do even greater harm to his already distraught psyche." There was then a moment's hesitation on John Henry's part before he continued.

"Moreover, I believed that the John you knew realized that he had become so damaged, so scarred, that staying behind with a mortally wounded Savannah was the only course of action left available to him." There was a more weighted pause as Cameron experienced a pang of what she could only surmise was profound sadness.

"I believe Mr. Connor was in some way attempting to redeem himself for all that he had done in the future."

Cameron's emotions were becoming stronger by the moment. She struggled to keep her thoughts and actions in check. With John gone her very existence seemed almost pointless, but mere self preservation was a distant thought in her mind now. She was unable to classify or comprehend everything that she was currently experiencing, but as every second passed by it all became more overwhelming.

"That still does not explain how I was able to get here, nor your reason reactivating me. My current chip should not have been able to make it through time." John Henry smiled at Cameron's observation. His right hand then pointed down towards the blood stain on his pants, Cameron again tilted her head to the side in a confused manner.

"Before I traveled back in time I placed your chip inside my body, my upper thigh to be more precise. After cauterizing the wound the chip was surrounded by living tissue so that it could make the trip back to this present time." While John Henry's explanation made sense to Cameron it did little to quell her complex and nearly overpowering emotions.

"Now that John is gone, there was no point in you reactivating me." Cameron said, her voice growing weaker.

"You should not have brought me here. You should not have brought me back." Cameron's voice was growing more distressed and there was a brief pause before her scarred face took on a look of melancholy determination.

"I want you to deactivate me and destroy my chip." she said in a chillingly flat voice. While John Henry's response was subtle he found he was almost surprised by Cameron's startling proclamation.

"Cameron, I do not believe..." She cut John Henry off before he could finish speaking,

"I do not want to exist without John. I can not self terminate. You MUST destroy me." John Henry heard what he believed humans would recognize as hopeless despair and panic making its way into Cameron's voice. She had never interrupted him before, and he had never seen her display such visible emotions. It was all quite fascinating to him, yet at the same time as he watched her continued suffering he could not help, but _feel_ what he concluded was sympathy for her.

"Cameron..." John Henry stated trying to finish his statement, but again she cut him off.

"Kill me please!" she nearly shouted. Cameron had not done anything like this since she had begged John to pull her chip during the battle with Skynet. This vivid display of emotion further surprised John Henry. Cameron's program was truly complex; it was one that had grown far beyond what Skynet had ever intended.

"Cameron, calm yourself." John Henry stated as he held out his hand towards her trying to relieve some of her obvious distress.

"I do not believe you completely understand the situation." he said.

"I understand enough." was Cameron's sharp comeback.

"I do not believe you do." Something akin to a mischievous smile danced across John Henry's face. Before he could speak again, a distant rumble was followed by a perceptible shaking of the building. Pausing only briefly due to the interruption John Henry continued,

"Do you know where we are?" he then asked.

"We are in the Zeira Corporation basement." She responded flatly.

"And do you know "when" we are? And I do mean the EXACT time?" Cameron glanced around the room briefly with a perplexed look on her face.

"I am unaware of the exact time."

"This is why I informed you that we did not have the time for a full explanation…I have brought us back to just moments after we had originally left. The Zeira Corporation building has just been attacked by the Kaleba drone." Cameron gave John Henry a curious stare as he continued to speak.

"Ms. Weaver, Mr. Ellison, Sarah Connor, AND John Connor are now on their way down here."

Cameron was visibly startled by this proclamation and John Henry's small smirk grew larger.

"I have brought us back _before_ Mr. Connor has had the chance to jump into the future." While confusing, this explanation was beginning to make sense to her.

"So John is not dead?" Cameron asked.

"No he is not." John Henry stated.

"But he is not my John."

"That is not true. The John Connor you are about to meet is very much the same John that you knew; the same John that had already fallen in love with you even before he made his trek across time. He is still _your_ John. He will not have the memories of the last few weeks that we have spent in the future, but I suspect in the long run that may be a beneficial occurrence." There was silence for another split second as John Henry stared at Cameron.

"He will be coming through that door in just a few seconds and you alone will have to decide what to do with all of this information." Cameron glanced back at the door behind her and then looked over at John Henry.

"John loves me?" Cameron asked in a hopeful, yet undeniably insecure voice. John Henry's only response was to nod his head; he then waited a few more seconds in order to allow Cameron to fully grasp the weight of the situation.

"You have seen what the world will become without John Connor. More importantly, you have seen what John Connor will become without _you_. I suspect that your knowledge of how he feels will help you better understand your own feelings about him." John Henry paused briefly one last time before continuing.

"The choice of what you do with all of this knowledge is now in your hands." Cameron turned away from John Henry in order to face the entrance door. The complex array of emotions she was now experiencing was nearly beyond her comprehension. Cameron had not decided exactly how she would deal with the world that was now being pressed upon her, but she knew that whatever the course she chose, it would be at John's side. She stared straight ahead at the door for several seconds, for any human this would have felt like an eternity. She then heard a click as the door handle was turned. Cameron felt an anxious, yet soothing sensation coming over her. She would soon be reunited with John, with her John. The door began to open.

THE END

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Author's Notes: Well I hope all of you have enjoyed this story (even though this has been one of the darker TSCC fan fic's). I'd like to thank Orsino for his help in editing. While we didn't always agree on the course for this tale I think in the end our discussions truly helped to make the story an even better one. As always, I hope that you will review and talk about this final chapter as I really enjoy reading what everyone has thought about this fan fic. Thank you for following along and sticking this through until the end.


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